In Edexcel global politics, an understanding of the impact of the challenges to US hegemony is vital in evaluating the likelihood of war and conflict. It can also provide useful context for investigating the possible consequences of various polar distributions of power.
In 2017, Graham Allison, an expert on US foreign and security policy, published Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap? Allison based his work on the ancient historian Thucydides’ theory that the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC) broke out because the existing dominant power, Sparta, was not prepared to tolerate the rise of Athens as a potential rival. According to Allison, the USA is in a similar position to Sparta today. If it is to maintain its dominant/hegemonic position, it may decide to confront the rising power of China.
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