IGA 170 Final Paper_Izzy Whittier

If there is one major policy issue that is playing a massive role in the current global agenda, it is China’s actions in the South China Sea (SCS). This policy issue goes back centuries as long as many modern realist thinkers were alive, giving their insights on world events. The SCS is one of the world’s most important waterways; trillions of dollars in trade pass through this region annually.i Additionally, several countries in the Asia-Pacific region contest the sovereignty of overlapping parts of the Sea, including Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Brunei.