Professor John Mearsheimer, a globally respected pioneer of the structural realist school of international relations thought, shared his views about ”Why a Cold War between China and the United States is Inevitable” with Pakistani journalist Ejaz Haider via video during this week’s Afkar-e-Taza ThinkFest. His main idea is that the anarchic and power-driven structure of contemporary international relations guarantees a new cold war between China and the United States. According to him, this is primarily because China aspires for hegemony across Asia, including through military means, which clashes with America’s existing hegemony there. […]
Chinese government representatives and their official foreign policy documents have gone to great lengths over the years to describe their country’s outlook on international relations. In theoretical terms, it more closely resembles the neoliberal one of promoting complex interdependence through trade than the structural realism one that Professor Mearsheimer ascribes to, but it’s not the case that China is doing that because of the same power-driven motivations as the ”Pivot to Asia” strategy of the U.S. It’s purely defensive and designed to secure its home region. Läs artikel