Avoiding War With China: Two Nations, One World [Hardcover]

Contending that conflict is inevitable when an established power does not make sufficient room for a rising power, some conclude that the United States and China are on a collision course. In this timely new work, renowned professor of international relations Amitai Etzioni points to the paths by which the two nations can avoid war.

Etzioni reveals that the United States is already preparing for a war with China. Major differences of opinion exist among experts on the extent of military commitment required, but no plan has been properly reviewed by either Congress or the White House, and none has been subjected to a public debate. Etzioni seeks to provide a context for this long overdue discourse and to ask the most urgent questions: How aggressive is China? How powerful is it? Does it seek regional dominance or to replace the U.S. as the global super power?

To avoid war, several scholars call for integrating China into the prevailing rule-based, liberal, international order. Etzioni spells out what this order entails, and studies what can be done to improve the odds such an integration will take place. Still others call for containing or balancing China, and Etzioni examines the resulting alliances with various countries in the region, particularly India and Pakistan.

The book presents our best strategy to reduce tension between the two powers and maps out how the United States can accommodate China's regional rise without undermining its core interests, its allies, and the international order.