Worse Than a Monolith: Alliance Politics and Problems of Coercive Diplomacy in Asia

(Princeton University Press) This book demonstrates that when states are engaged in coercive diplomacy — combining threats and assurances to influence the behavior of real or potential adversaries – divisions, rivalries, and lack of coordination within the opposing camp often make it more difficult to prevent the onset of conflict, to prevent existing conflicts from escalating, and to negotiate the end to those conflicts promptly. Christensen is a professor of politics and international affairs and director of the Princeton-Harvard China and the World Program at Princeton University.