Power is real, but it does not always prevail. This book explores how disparity structures international relationships. Beginning at the bilateral level, the relationship between the smaller side and the larger side can be normal as long as the smaller does not feel threatened and the larger can assume that its capabilities are respected. However, the smaller can be tempted to brinksmanship, while the larger can be tempted to bully. Asymmetric conflicts are often stalemated because the limited commitment of the larger side is met by the smaller's mortal resistance. In multilateral situations, asymmetry shapes patterns of uncertainty and attention. In global systems, how hegemons treat their subjects is the unobserved sand shifting beneath their feet as they look toward their challenger. Since 2008, the US has retained primacy but not dominance. The management of asymmetric relationships in a multinodal world will determine how power matters in the current era.

America's longest wars have been 'small wars'. This book explains how power differences shape - but don't determine - international relationships.

About the Author
Brantly Womack holds the C. K. Yen Chair at the Miller Center and is Professor of Foreign Affairs at the University of Virginia. His research focuses on Chinese politics and international relationships in East Asia. His most recent books include China and Vietnam: The Politics of Asymmetry (2006), China among Unequals (2010), and China's Rise in Historical Perspective (2010). He has worked closely with universities and research institutes in China, Vietnam, and Taiwan and was given the China Friendship Award in 2011.

Reviews
'Womack explores the dynamics of asymmetrical relationships in international relations, including unequal bilateral relationships and patterns of asymmetry in multilateral settings. He finds, inter alia, that asymmetric conflicts are often stalemated when the limited commitment of the larger side is met with 'mortal resistance' by the smaller side.' Survival: Global Politics and Strategy
'Some books tell you all you want to know about a subject; some tell you more than you want to know; some don't tell you much at all; but some raise questions in your mind, provoke new thoughts, and lay the groundwork for further research. To his credit, Brantly Womack's Asymmetry and International Relationships is that last kind of book.' David A. Baldwin, H-Diplo



Book Information
ISBN 9781107589537
Author Brantly Womack
Format Paperback
Page Count 260
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 390g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 152mm * 16mm