Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? by Graham Allison - Non Fiction - Paperback

Details:. Condition: BRAND NEW. Format: Paperback. ISBN: 9781911617303. Publisher: Scribe UK. Overview. Destined for War is Harvard scholar Graham Allison's landmark study of the "Thucydides's Trap" — the historical pattern in which a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one, often ending in war. Focused on the fraught relationship between the United States and China, this razor-sharp, widely acclaimed book draws on centuries of history to ask whether the world's two biggest superpowers can avoid catastrophe. Named a Sunday Times and FT Book of the Year, it remains one of the most important geopolitical analyses of the modern era.. About the Book. When a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one, war has historically been the most common outcome. Graham Allison calls this recurring dynamic "Thucydides's Trap", named after the Greek historian who observed how Sparta's fear of a rising Athens made conflict almost unavoidable. In Destined for War, Allison applies this framework to the US-China relationship. Drawing on sixteen historical case studies spanning five hundred years, Allison shows that in twelve of those cases, the result was war. Yet he stresses that war is not inevitable — four cases avoided bloodshed, offering lessons for today's leaders. The book examines the economic, military, and cultural forces driving the rivalry, and asks what compromises and statesmanship might be needed to keep the peace. Allison writes with the pace of a seasoned Washington i...