Taiwan In Sino-American Relations : An Ontological Security Study

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this thesis is to explain why China put so much emphasizes on the Taiwan issue in their relations with the U.S. This will be explored by looking at what elements are affecting the commitment to the Taiwan question in Sino-American relations and how this can be explained by using ontological terms such as "rooted identity" and "significant others". Two key elements has been identified to analyze this; victimization and legitimacy. To evaluate the subject two research questions will be used; how can legitimacy and victimization explain China’s commitment to the Taiwan question when it comes to Sino-American relations? What is the connection between legitimacy, victimization and the PRC’s rooted identity? Policy-statement and official documents will be used to sheed light on the Taiwan-questions affects on Sino-American relations from an ontological security theory perspective. The thesis will argue that the PRC’s early history has great effects on their commitment to this issue and that legitimacy and victimization is affecting China’s commitment to Taiwan to the extent that it cannot accept an independent Taiwan. Hence this issue will continue to have great impact on China’s foreign relations, especially with the U.S. However, despite strong rhetoric’s China does not necessarily need to achieve unification with Taiwan in the near future.