Tag: strategic competition
Semiconductor Chessboard: How the US-China AI Race is Redrawing Global Alliances and Diplomatic Strategy
When OpenAI's leadership approached the Trump administration in late October 2025 with an ambitious request to expand Chips Act tax credits beyond semiconductor fabrication...
Return of Great Power Competition: How the U.S., China, and Russia Are Reshaping the World Order
This return to great power competition represents more than a nostalgic replay of Cold War dynamics. Unlike the ideologically rigid bipolar confrontation of the 20th century, today's competition unfolds across multiple dimensions—economic, technological, military, and normative—while operating within a deeply interconnected global system. The result is a more complex, multipolar world where traditional alliance structures coexist with new partnership arrangements, where economic interdependence constrains conflict while enabling new forms of strategic competition, and where middle powers possess unprecedented agency to shape outcomes between competing great powers.
Balance of Power: Why Classical Theory Still Shapes Our Multipolar World
Balance-of-power theory emerged from centuries of European statecraft, crystallized by thinkers like Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz into a core principle of international relations: states naturally seek to prevent any single power from achieving hegemony. The theory posits that when one state grows too powerful, others will form coalitions to contain it, creating a self-regulating system that preserves sovereignty and prevents domination.
