(iPoster) Dynamic Network Restructuring in East Asia under the Indo-Pacific Strategy

• In Event: Poster Sessions: Information Technology and Politics & Political Networks
  In Poster Session: Poster Session: Political Networks

Abstract

We treat the Indo-Pacific Strategy (IPS) as a region-level network shock and ask whether, and how, East Asia’s interstate connectivity has been rewired after IPS. Building on mid-range theories of network power, alliance order, and middle-power hedging/structural holes, we derive three testable hypotheses: H1 (Structural Reconfiguration): U.S. allies and partners see higher cooperation-layer centrality and stronger within-bloc cohesion, yielding a clearer community structure. H2 (Role Recasting): selected middle powers shift from the periphery to brokerage positions, with rising betweenness/brokerage and declining structural constraint. H3 (Temporal Alignment): identifiable change-points in network metrics appear in close temporal proximity to major IPS milestones (without causal claims). Using 2015–2024 event data, we construct a signed, two-layer (cooperation–conflict) network for East Asia and focus on centrality, community, and brokerage measures to evaluate H1–H3 and draw implications for alliance coordination and regional governance.
Next step. We will treat these network indices (e.g., cooperation-layer PageRank, conflict-layer betweenness) as outcomes and, using quasi-experimental designs, assess whether allied/partner states differ systematically and attributably from other regional states after IPS milestones.

Authors

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