Hegemonic transition in East Asia? The dynamics of Chinese and American power

The ‘rise of China’ is seen by some observers as a precursor of inevitable hegemoniccompetition in East Asia. At the very least, it seems likely that China’s influence in East Asiawill grow at the expense of the United States. Whether this will eventually amount to a formof ‘hegemonic transition’ is far less clear. It is, therefore, an opportune moment to consider therelative strengths and weaknesses of China and the US in East Asia. This paper suggests thatthe nature of hegemonic competition and transition is more uncertain and complex than someof the most influential theoretical understandings of hegemony would have us believe