Explain Sino-Russian alignment

In retrospect, the Sino-Soviet alliance of the 1950s based on a shared communism ideology was actually very fragile. However, the end of Cold War brought a new era of Sino-Russian relations. The two countries are heading toward the closest relations they have had in decades. Ideology no longer permeates Sino-Russian bilateral relations, but a clear movement toward cooperation and coordination is occurring.;In this thesis I have two objectives: First, I intend to demonstrate what forces (independent variables) possibly drive Sino-Russian alignment (dependent variable) according to different theories' argument about alignment. I will specifically discuss Kenneth Waltz's balance of power theory, Stephen Walt's balance of external threat theory, and Richard Harknett's balance of interrelated threat theory, which is developed from Steven David's balance of internal threat theory. Second, I will try to demonstrate the theoretical and policy significance of the above different explanations of Sino-Russian alignment.;After analyzing the explanation given by the aforementioned three theories, I conclude that Harknett's balance of interrelated threat theory provides the best current explanation to Sino-Russian alignment. While other theories focus on the external variables contributing to Sino-Russian alignment, Harknett's theory notes that Sino-Russian alignment responds to the interrelated threats. This explanation catches the substance of Sin-Russian relationship and the nature of the challenges that Russia and China have confronted in the Post-Cold War era. The advantage of Harknett's explanation is especially brought out, when some new developments of Sino-Russian relationship after 911 could not be properly explained by other theories.