Not Just Another Cold War The Global Implications of the US-China Rivalry

by Steen, Bård Nikolas Vik

• ISBN13: 9780197799895
• ISBN10: 0197799892
• eBook ISBN(s): 9780197799918
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2025-03-19
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• More Book Details

Summary

Not Just Another Cold War considers how the emerging superpower rivalry between the US and China compares to the Cold War, and what that means for the future of global politics. By contrasting the current US-China rivalry with a well-understood conflict, the authors provide insights into the characteristics and trajectory of the twenty-first century's defining conflict.

With contributions from some of the world's most influential international relations scholars--Stephen Walt, M. Taylor Fravel, Odd Arne Westad, Robert Ross, and Thomas J. Christensen, among others--the volume examines many of the most important facets of the US-China relationship: the economic and military balance, the impact of technology, geopolitical consequences, relations between China and Russia, the future of NATO, and the risk of war over Taiwan. Through their analysis, the authors highlight key similarities between the current rivalry and the Cold War conflict, but also vitally important differences.

The US-China relationship--the defining superpower rivalry of the twenty-first century--is likely to prove at least as dangerous and consequential as the contest that shaped the second half of the twentieth century. But to understand and strategize around the current political face-off, it is essential to recognize that this is not just another Cold War.

Author Biography

Bård Nikolas Vik Steen is a geopolitical analyst and security policy advisor at the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. He was a member of the secretariat to the Norwegian Defence Commission of 2021, which delivered the most comprehensive review of the Norwegian Armed Forces since the Cold War. Steen previously served as the Programme Manager of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. His last book, Nuclear Disarmament: A Critical Assessment was published by Routledge in 2019. All opinions expressed in this book are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Norwegian Ministry of Defence or any other agency of the Norwegian Government.

Table of Contents

Contributors
Acknowledgements

Introduction
Bård Nikolas Vik Steen

One: This is Not Cold War II
1. The Cold War and Our Own Times
Odd Arne Westad
2. US-China Bipolarity and Conflictual Coexistence
Øystein Tunsjø

Two: The Economic Contest
3. The Limits of China's Economic Rise
David Dollar
4. "The "Venture Capital State": Implications for China's Growth
Arthur R. Kroeber

Three: The Military Balance
5. China: Regional Power or Global Superpower?
Robert S. Ross
6. Will US-PRC Military Competition Go Global?: Why Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Matters
Thomas J. Christensen

Four: The Technological Rivalry
7. Technological Competition and the US-China Rivalry
M. Taylor Fravel
8. Technological Change and the Intensifying US-China Security Dilemma
Henrik Stålhane Hiim

Five: The Russia-China Partnership
9. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and the Sino-Russian Partnership
Elizabeth Wishnick
10. China-Russia Rapprochement: Beyond Rationality, the Strength of Ideology
Alice Ekman

Six: The Geopolitical Consequences
11. The Geography of Rimland and Heartland: Why the US-China Rivalry Differs from the Cold War
Jo Inge Bekkevold
12. Geotransition and the Future of Global Stability
Bård Nikolas Vik Steen

Seven: The Future of NATO
13. Can NATO Survive the Geostrategic Pivot to Asia?
François Heisbourg
14. Will Europe Balance China?: Transatlantic Security Cooperation in an Era of Sino-American Rivalry
Stephen M. Walt

Eight: The Hot War
15. Assessing the Prospects for Armed Conflict in the Taiwan Strait
Scott L. Kastner
16. What a Conflict Over Taiwan Would Look Like
Bruno Tertrais