U.S. Allies and the Taiwan Strait

On Friday, October 2, the Asia Policy Program will host a public book talk on U.S. Allies and the Taiwan Strait with author Dr. Adam P. Liff, a scholar of contemporary foreign policy and security challenges in East Asia, particularly Japanese politics and foreign policy; the U.S.-Japan alliance; U.S. allies and Taiwan; Japan-U.S.-China relations; and U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy.

Dr. Liff’s book analyzes the positions and policies vis-à-vis Taiwan of six major democratic US treaty allies-
Japan, Australia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Germany-and the European Union against the backdrop of worsening tensions across the Taiwan Strait. Historically and today, these US partners have exercised far greater agency supporting Taiwan’s international space and cross-Strait stability-in key instances even blazing early trails Washington would later follow-than the overwhelmingly US-centric academic and policy discourse generally suggests. Decades ago, each crafted an intentionally ambiguous official position regarding Taiwan’s status that effectively granted subsequent political leaders considerable flexibility to operationalize their government’s ‘One China’ policy and officially ‘unofficial’ relationship with Taiwan. Today, intensifying cross-Strait frictions ensure that US allies’ policy choices will remain critical factors affecting the status quo’s sustainability and democratic Taiwan’s continued viability as an autonomous international actor.

Dr. Adam P. Liff is Professor of East Asian International Relations at Indiana University’s Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, where he also serves as Founding Director of its 21st Century Japan Politics and Society Initiative (“21JPSI”). Beyond IU, he is a Nonresident Senior Fellow with the Center for Asia Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Dr. Liff’s research examines contemporary foreign policy and security challenges in East Asia—with a particular focus on Japanese politics and foreign policy; the U.S.-Japan alliance; U.S. allies and Taiwan; Japan-U.S.-China relations; and U.S. Asia-Pacific strategy. Most recently, he is the author of U.S. Allies and the Taiwan Strait (Cambridge UP, 2025). Dr. Liff holds a Ph.D. and M.A. in Politics from Princeton University, a postgraduate research certificate in international politics from the University of Tokyo, and a B.A. from Stanford University. A dedicated educator, he has received multiple commendations for his teaching, including IU’s Trustees Teaching Award in 2024. His personal research website is https://adampliff.com/.