A closer look at “Can the US and China Avoid the Thucydides Trap? DW News Explores”, exactly as the source publishes it. Chinese President Xi Jinping has stated that the United States and China can avoid the “Thucydides Trap” – the theory that rivalry between a rising power and an established power often ends in war. But is this concept a useful warning for today’s US-China relationship, or does it oversimplify a far more complex reality? DW News asks analyst Kelly Grieco to weigh in.
The Thucydides Trap, popularized by political scientist Graham Allison, is based on the observation that 12 of 16 historical rivalries ended in war. The theory draws from ancient Greek history, where the rise of Athens and the fear it instilled in Sparta led to the Peloponnesian War. In the modern context, China’s rapid rise and the United States’ established superpower status have led many to draw parallels. For the complete material, the listing points back to the source inside the network.