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DESTINED FOR WAR: CAN AMERICA AND CHINA ESCAPE THUCYDIDES'S TRAP? Graham Allison. Boston-New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 288pp. Appendices. Notes. Index. $28.
Graham Allison, director of Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center, also is the author of seminal books: Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis (with Philip Zelikow; Pearson, 1999) and Lee Kuan Yew: The Grand Master 's Insights on China, the United States, and the World (with Bob Blackwill and Ali Wyne; MIT Press, 2016).
In his most recent effort, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides 's Trap, Allison has written another, well-structured, thoughtful book, examining prospects for the U.S.-China relationship as seen through the lens of the Thucydides trap. This is a term he coined in a 2015 article to express the potential frictions between a rising nation's power and influence and those of a waning state. The model for this lens was Thucydides' description of the Athens-Sparta conflict around 430 BC. In this book, Allison presents a rigorously logical thought process, borne by his considerable intellect, thorough scholarship, and decades spent in the government saddle along with other leaders. Those in accountable, responsible positions for conducting U.S.-China relations, and those who merely hold an interest, are well served by absorbing Allison's thoughts and articulation. Even if one quibbles with Allison on random points, substantiating such views will be constructive.
An eager reader should not forgo the introduction and preface. In these 13 pages, placed in context are (1) similarities of challenges faced by Presidents Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, (2) meaning of "Thucydides trap," (3) the notion that if "we (the U.S.) don't do something differently, we'll end up where we are headed" (attributed to Yogi...