The Thucydides Trap and the Dangerous Future of US-China Relations
How Ancient Greece’s Most Famous Rivalry Became a Warning for the Future of American and Chinese Power
When Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly asked United States President Donald Trump in Beijing whether the two countries could avoid the “Thucydides trap,” he was invoking one of the most influential — and controversial — ideas in modern geopolitics.
The phrase has become central to debates about the future of international order and the growing rivalry between Washington and Beijing. It is frequently used to describe the possibility that strategic competition between an established superpower and a rising challenger could eventually lead to war.
But what exactly is the Thucydides trap? And does history really suggest that conflict between the United States and China is becoming inevitable?
