A triad of another kind

by Zhang, Ming

In the early 1990s, the U.S.-Chinese-Soviet strategic triangle vanished into history and, simultaneously, the U.S., China, and Japan formed their own power triad in the Asia-Pacific region. Is this another hostile strategic triangle? How do the three great powers interact with one another? Ming Zhang and Ronald N. Montaperto tackle these questions and present their thoughtful answers in A Triad of Another Kind: The United States, China, and Japan. Investigating elite perception, domestic constraint, and international distribution of power, the authors find the triangular relationship full of uncertainty but not necessarily of hostility. They reveal the distinguishing characteristics of this triad, including its tendency to function as a reciprocal entity, rather than forming two-against-one relationships.