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The Thucydides Trap, or Thucydides' Trap, is a term popularized by American political scientist Graham T. Allison to describe an apparent tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power as a regional or international hegemon. [1]
In Destined for War, eminent Harvard scholar Graham Allison explains why Thucydides’s Trap is the best lens for understanding the most critical foreign policy issue of our time.
Apr 4, 2024 · Central to Allison's work is the concept of the "Thucydides Trap," a term he coined in his book, Destined for War. It refers to the precarious situation when an ascending power threatens to displace an established one—a situation that historically has often led to war.
Understanding the Thucydides Trap is crucial for policymakers and strategists in navigating the complexities of international politics. By recognizing the risks associated with power transitions, states can adopt more prudent and cooperative strategies to mitigate conflict.
Jun 13, 2024 · Scholars of Thucydides, the ancient historian of the conflict, have dwelt on two different explanations of the causes of the War. First, the “Thucydides’ Trap”, which argues that Sparta’s fear of the growing power of Athens rendered peace arrangements non-credible and made war inevitable.
In Destined for War, the eminent Harvard scholar Graham Allison explains why Thucydides's Trap is the best lens for understanding U.S.-China relations in the twenty-first century.
May 7, 2024 · This article demonstrates how the Thucydides trap largely overlooks these debates, thereby providing analysts with less precise heuristics for thinking about the prospect of global conflict than they might otherwise have.
The Thucydides’s Trap Case File (below) presents summaries of all sixteen cases, which are featured in Graham Allison's new book Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?
Sep 24, 2015 · A risk associated with Thucydides’s Trap is that business as usual—not just an unexpected, extraordinary event—can trigger large-scale conflict.
Jun 9, 2017 · The Thucydides Trap. When one great power threatens to displace another, war is almost always the result — but it doesn’t have to be. By Graham Allison, a professor of government at the Harvard...
