CIDEG No.118 Academic Salon
Destined for War: Can the U.S. and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?
Time：15:00-17:00, March 16th (Mon), 2015
Venue：Room 302, School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University
Speaker：Graham T. Allison
Douglas Dillon Professor of Government,
Director of Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University
Commentator：ZHA Daojiong
Professor of School of International Studies, Peking University
Moderator：XUE Lan
Dean and Professor of School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University
Language：English
Introduction：
When a rising power rivals a ruling power, historically, this has not worked out well. Think the rise of Germany and the fear that it installed in the UK in the run-up to World War I. Indeed, in 12 of 16 cases in the past 500 years, the result was war. Fortunately, 4 of the 16 ended without war—so there is no ground for fatalism. But there is a necessity to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge this poses for the leadership in both societies.
Prof. Allison has served as Special Advisor to the Secretary of Defense under President Reagan and as Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy and Plans under President Clinton. His main books are Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis, Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master’s Insights on China, the United States and the World (co-authored with Robert Blackwill), Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe, etc..
