The Palgrave Geopolitical Handbook: Alliance Politics in Great Power Competition is a comprehensive and authoritative guide to the central role of alliances in the twenty-first-century US–China rivalry.

Combining theoretical, historical, and policy perspectives, the book surveys the major formal and informal alliances led by the United States and China, respectively. It shows how contemporary alliance politics has transformed great power competition from a bilateral contest between the United States and China into a multiplayer game involving a range of regional powers (such as Japan and Australia in the Indo-Pacific, and the United Kingdom, France, and Germany in the Euro-Atlantic) as well as smaller states (such as the Philippines and Singapore). In doing so, the book offers readers a wider lens through which to understand contemporary great power competition—one that looks beyond the two principal great powers to the allies and partners that shape the contest.

The volume will be an essential reference for scholars and students of international relations worldwide. It will also appeal to policymakers and practitioners seeking to understand the dynamics of contemporary great power competition.

Brian C. H. Fong is Distinguished Professor in the College of Social Sciences at National Sun Yat-sen University (Taiwan). He also holds adjunct appointments at the National Defense University (USA), Pacific Forum (USA), SOAS University of London (UK) and the University of the Ryukyus (Japan).

Specialising in great power competition, Professor Fong has published more than 100 scholarly and policy works, including over 30 articles in leading SSCI-indexed journals such as International Affairs, Democratization, Nations and Nationalism, The Pacific Review, Journal of Chinese Political Science, and The China Quarterly. He is also the author of US-China Rivalry: Great Power Competition in the Indo-Pacific (Edinburgh University Press, 2024) and US-EU-Russia Rivalry: Great Power Competition in the Euro-Atlantic (Edinburgh University Press, 2026).