ABSTRACT
Military struggles among major world powers have long attracted attention from international relations theorists. A central concern of the numerous theories developed to explain state-to-state interaction is the challenge that a “rising power” poses to “incumbent hegemony” and the incumbent’s established world order.1 Some scholars believe that this traditional view of international politics as driven by contentious, mutually suspicious states is no longer valid after the end of the Cold War.2 However, the rapid development of China’s economy, military power, political leverage in international affairs, and even cultural influence in the world in recent years has vindicated the concern of many political leaders about the rise of China and its consequences. All indications are that China is the rising power most likely to pose a serious threat to the United States and its established world order in the near future.3 This view has become increasingly popular not only because of the renaissance of the realist paradigm in international relations but also through the recent spread of arguments asserting the existence of a “China Threat.”4
