There have been many theoretical approaches to understand the SinoJapanese conflict. The most common one in the recent debate has been Neo-realism, a theory which holds that power is the most important factor in international relations. However, in his short monograph, Philip Streich has resorted to the much less-used Rivalry Theories, notably that of Michael Colaresi. The purpose of his work is to explain why states choose to escalate, de-escalate or maintain the status quo of the rivalry. Philip Streich’s adapted model uses two independent variables. Onemeasures domestic dynamics, capturing what is called ‘outbidding’ in Rivalry Theory. This is where domestic opponents try to outflank the leadership with contrary demands in order to score political points. This also includes the leadership’s diversionary tactics, using foreign policy to divert public attention from domestic problems. The intensity and duration of rivalry is also dependent on the expectation of higher or lower costs, the second independent variable. Relying on secondary sources, the author applies the theory to two periods of Sino-Japanese rivalry, firstly 1874– 1945, and later 1996 to the current time. His brief historical overviews, which occupy the major part of the book, are very concise and in themselves can serve as a very useful reference for many readers.

中文翻译：

---

千变万化的中日对抗

理解中日冲突的理论方法有很多。最近辩论中最常见的是新现实主义，这种理论认为权力是国际关系中最重要的因素。然而，在他的短篇专着中，Philip Streich 使用了很少使用的竞争理论，尤其是 Michael Colaresi 的理论。他工作的目的是解释为什么各国选择升级、降级或维持竞争现状。Philip Streich 的改编模型使用两个自变量。一个衡量国内动态，捕捉竞争理论中所谓的“出价”。这就是国内反对者试图以相反的要求包抄领导层以获得政​​治分数的地方。这也包括领导层的转移注意力的策略，利用外交政策转移公众对国内问题的注意力。竞争的强度和持续时间还取决于对更高或更低成本的预期，这是第二个自变量。作者依靠二手资料，将该理论应用于中日对抗的两个时期，首先是 1874 年至 1945 年，后来是 1996 年至今。他的简短历史概述占据了本书的主要部分，非常简洁，本身可以为许多读者提供非常有用的参考。