Diplomacy in Great Power Competition and the Limits of Economic Statecraft

By: Hafiz Ibrahim

As contemporary rivals, the United States and China echo historical patterns of major competition between an established and a rising power, described within Graham Allison’s article, “The Thucydides Trap: Are the U.S. and China Headed for War?” Allison warns of an apparent tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power like a regional or international hegemon.