Global Networks and Disruptive Strategies in Great-Power Competition

• In Event: Economic, Military, and Institutional Intervention in Great Power Competition

Abstract

Third-party influence permeates many aspects of international politics. States consistently seek to shape others’ relationships, for better or worse. In this article, I introduce the concept of “tie disruption” to characterize state behaviors aimed at undermining or severing the relationships or ties between other states. I explore how major powers, in the context of great-power competition, can exercise disruptive strategies to effectively alienate a target (less powerful) country from a competitor. I argue that international relations scholars cannot explain the effectiveness of tie disruption simply by focusing on how states use their national power to directly reward or punish targets. Rather, states can also leverage their influence over intermediary actors to indirectly disrupt relationships, and the effectiveness of these disruptive approaches is largely shaped by global networks formed by specific patterned international ties – military, economic, social, and more. I test the theory with an analysis of the recent Sino-US 5G technological competition. This research sheds light on the dynamic interplay between network positions and state behaviors, and offers a network-relational perspective to analyze great-power competition.

Author

• Haoming Xiong, Ohio State University