Taiwan’s international status appears to be one of the most likely scenarios over which war between the U.S. and China could break out. It is, therefore, important to explore why China has defined...Show moreTaiwan’s international status appears to be one of the most likely scenarios over which war between the U.S. and China could break out. It is, therefore, important to explore why China has defined Taiwanese independence or even perpetual maintenance of the status quo as a ‘red line’ and, thus, integration of Taiwan into China as a prime objective. This thesis ap proaches that question by employing a Neoclassical Realist-Constructivist hybrid as a theoret ical framework and identifying dual legitimacy of authoritarian regimes as the imperative that informs foreign policy decision-making of ‘Calculative Revisionist’ great powers. This makes the Taiwan issue both a case study and an important scenario. Furthermore, the thesis com bines the exploration of factors of dual legitimacy with a probability/risk-assessment of poten tial options for implementing China’s objective of Taiwanese integration or, at least, preven tion of formal independence.Show less
