Where Great Powers Meet explores the global competition for power between the United States and China. Focusing on Southeast Asia, David Shambaugh looks at how ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and the countries within it maneuver between the US and China and the degree to which they align with one or the other power.

List of Figures List of Tables Preface Chapter 1: Sino-American Competition in Southeast Asia Part I: The American Encounter with Southeast Asia Chapter 2: America's Legacies in Southeast Asia Chapter 3: America's Contemporary Roles in Southeast Asia Part II: The Chinese Encounter with Southeast Asia Chapter 4: Chin a's Legacies in Southeast Asia Chapter 5: Contemporary China's Roles in Southeast Asia Part III: Southeast Asian Encounters with America and China Chapter 6: Navigating Between the Giants: ASEAN's Agency Part IV: The Future of Great Power Relations in Southeast Asia Chapter 7: Sino-American Competition in Southeast Asia: Polarization or Competitive Coexistence? Acknowledgments Notes Index

David Shambaugh's Where Great Powers Meet is a fine contribution to a spate of recent books focusing on China, Southeast Asia, and the US. His work is arguably the most policy and foreign policy (narrowly defined) oriented.

"David Shambaugh's Where Great Powers Meet is a fine contribution to a spate of recent books focusing on China, Southeast Asia, and the US. His work is arguably the most policy and foreign policy (narrowly defined) oriented." -- David Bachman, University of Washington, Seattle, Pacific Affairs "The book provides food for thought for countries elsewhere as they manage relations with the two competing great powers while protecting their own national interests. Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers." -- Z. Zhu, Bucknell University, CHOICE "Shambaugh's book makes a very important contribution on this critical issue in Australia's neighbourhood... and should be required reading for all Asia-watchers." -- John West, Australian Institute of International Affairs "What does great power rivalry mean? David Shambaugh provides an engaging and readable account of how the US-China competition is playing out in its Southeast Asian epicenter. One could not ask for a more thoughtful and experienced guide to this fraught relationship." -- Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Harvard University and author of Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump "This timely book on Southeast Asia by a leading American Asia specialist belongs on the desk of every senior US official involved with foreign policy and national security. As US-China rivalry intensifies, the strategic significance of Southeast Asia is also shooting upward. In recent decades the region's economic vibrancy and cooperative relationships have made it a global success story. Now its geographic location is assuming ever greater importance. This book explains why. Deeply researched, it is loaded with background information and astute assessments that should inform the thinking of all those concerned about the future role of the United States in a rapidly changing world." -- J. Stapleton Roy, Wilson Center, former US ambassador to Singapore, China, and Indonesia "Distinguished China scholar David Shambaugh has produced a timely and well-conceived treatment of the battle for influence between the United States and China that is raging across Southeast Asia. With firsthand accounts and deep insights, he has provided a deeply incisive and troubling narrative of a struggle that too often tilts towards Beijing. Current, deeply relevant and powerfully presented, Shambaugh's book lands like a piece of ordnance in a firefight DL with a big blast. A must read for anyone seeking to understand the contest for primacy playing out in Southeast Asia." -- Hon. Kurt Campbell, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia & Pacific; Chairman & CEO of The Asia Group "Where Great Powers Meet is about the New Great Game DL Sino-American competition in Southeast Asia. David Shambaugh has combined his deep understanding of China, experience in US government with his new immersion in ASEAN to produce a perceptive, balanced and comprehensive study on this dynamic rivalry. He has succinctly captured the nuances in the thinking and responses of the ASEAN states. This book is essential reading for those who wish to make sense of the changing geopolitics of Southeast Asia." -- Hon. Chan Heng Chee, Ambassador-at-Large and Chairperson, ISEAS- Yusof-Ishak Institute, Singapore "Blending historical context with an incisive analysis of current developments and policy prescriptions, David Shambaugh's new book should be read by anyone DL from academia or the policy world DL who seeks to understand Southeast Asia's crucial role in shaping US-China relations and the 21st century world order." -- Amitav Acharya, American University, Washington, D.C. "An eye-opening survey of a volatile, crucially important region and a must-read for students of geopolitics." --Kirkus Reviews "Shambaugh's fresh eyes are reason enough to read Where Great Powers Meet, as they yield equally fresh observations and arguments." --The Asia Times "The authoritative empirical work comparing Chinese and American influence and weaknesses in the region." --Contemporary Southeast Asia "The book offers not just an overall accessible and well-informed overview of the role played by Southeast Asia in the US-China competition but also stimulating insights into the dynamics within this triangular set of relations. In content and style, it is also well-positioned to serve as complementary material for teaching on Asian politics, the US and China's foreign policy, as well as Sino-US relations on both higher undergraduate and postgraduate levels." -- Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography

Selling point: Examines the comprehensive competition between the United States and China, which is the most distinguishing feature of international relations at present and indefinitely into the future Selling point: Challenges the pervasive and predominant narrative that China is the "inevitable" dominant power while the US is in inexorable decline Selling point: Makes predictions about the future of the relationship between China and the United States

David Shambaugh is Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science, & International Affairs and the founding Director of the China Policy Program in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He is an internationally recognized authority and award-winning author on contemporary China and the international relations of Asia. An active public intellectual and frequent commentator in the international media, he serves on numerous editorial boards, and has been a consultant to governments, research institutions, foundations, universities, corporations, banks, and investment funds. As an author, Professor Shambaugh has published more than 30 books and 300 articles.

Selling point: Examines the comprehensive competition between the United States and China, which is the most distinguishing feature of international relations at present and indefinitely into the future Selling point: Challenges the pervasive and predominant narrative that China is the "inevitable" dominant power while the US is in inexorable decline Selling point: Makes predictions about the future of the relationship between China and the United States