US-China Taiwan Rivalry Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards identifying core concepts, theoretical frameworks, policies, and military terms from the US-China Taiwan case study.

Byman and Pollack's Leadership Framework

An international relations concept asserting that an individual leader's personal preferences exert greater influence on state policy when power is concentrated in their hands and institutional checks are weak.

One Country, Two Systems

Beijing's ideal political framework for unifying Taiwan, under which Taiwan would retain its social and economic systems while relinquishing independent foreign and defense policy to accept PRC sovereignty.

One-China Principle

Beijing's declared baseline condition for foreign relations, maintaining that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and requiring international actors to reject Taiwanese independence.

UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 (1971)

A 1971 resolution that Beijing claims settled Taiwan's status in international law, though the US and Taiwan argue it only decided UN representation for China without establishing sovereignty over Taiwan.

Strategic Ambiguity

The longstanding US policy based on the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act and Three Communiqués, acknowledging Beijing's one-China position and arming Taiwan defensively while deliberately leaving unstated whether the US would intervene in a war.

Joint Island Landing Campaign (JILC)

The People's Liberation Army's most demanding operational concept regarding Taiwan, requiring a large-scale amphibious assault to seize a beachhead and invade the main island.

Justice Mission 2025

A major PLA military exercise conducted in December 2025, identified by analysts as China's most extensive blockade-simulation drill to date.

Asymmetric Defence Strategy

Taiwan's defensive military strategy prioritizing resilient, distributed, and cost-effective systems—such as mobile anti-ship missiles, air defenses, and mines—to deter or raise the costs of a PLA landing.

Commitment Problem

A rationalist bargaining dilemma where a shifting balance of relative power prevents states from credibly guaranteeing that agreements reached today will be respected once one state becomes dominant.

Preventive-War Logic

The strategic rationale wherein a state facing expected relative decline chooses to initiate conflict while the power balance remains favorable rather than risk fighting later under worse terms.

Three Warfares Concept

The Chinese Communist Party framework integrating public-opinion warfare, psychological warfare, and legal warfare (lawfare) alongside grey-zone operations to degrade an adversary's resolve without open military conflict.

Fundamental Attribution Bias (Jervis, 1988)

A cognitive distortion where decision-makers attribute their own actions to situational defense while viewing an adversary's identical actions as evidence of fixed hostile intent.

Reactive Devaluation

A psychological bias identified by Kahneman and Renshon where a diplomatic proposal or concession is automatically discounted or distrusted simply because it originated from an adversary.

Silicon Shield

The concept that Taiwan's central position in global high-tech supply chains—specifically TSMC's advanced semiconductor manufacturing—serves as a geopolitical deterrent against invasion.

Prospect Theory (in IR)

A behavioral theory holding that decision-makers are significantly more risk-acceptant when taking action to avoid or reverse perceived losses relative to a baseline reference point.