: The rising power often views its growth as benign and grows more entitled, while the ruling power sees this as ungrateful and fears losing its edge. Why the US-China Case is "Grim"
: Named after the ancient Greek historian Thucydides, who observed that the Peloponnesian War was caused by "the rise of Athens and the fear that this instilled in Sparta".
The "trap" refers to the dangerous structural stress that occurs when a (China) threatens to displace a ruling power (the United States). Destined for War: Can America and China Escape ...
Allison suggests several factors make this seventeenth case particularly dangerous:
: All-out war could be sparked by "ordinary flashpoints" or accidents that would normally be manageable, such as a trade conflict, cyberattack, or a crisis in Taiwan or the South China Sea. : The rising power often views its growth
: China’s rapid economic ascent is unparalleled—surpassing the U.S. in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)—while the U.S. maintains a "DNA to be Number One".
: Allison’s team identified 16 cases over the last 500 years where a rising power challenged a ruling one; 12 of these resulted in war . Allison suggests several factors make this seventeenth case
: Both nations suffer from "extreme superiority complexes," viewing themselves as exceptional and peerless. Book Summary: Destined for War by Graham Allison