Although Graham Allison is right to consider the problems of how to prevent a China-US war by considering past history his focus appears exclusively western. he does not appear to consider deeply enough China's own long history, what lessons or implications might be drawn from China's history to prevent Sino-American conflicts. Furthermore, his thinking is too defensive, focusing on fears and military conflict, rather than also considering hopes and opportunities, such as economic and cultural exchanges. Former Amb. McFaul recently called for greater Chinese linguistic and cultural awareness to form the corps of people who will guide and manage U.S. China policies. Perhaps this lack of language or even historical awareness of China on the part of Allison is why? China can be a military challenger but is an economic opportunity and potentially the key to ending poverty world-wide. So understanding US-China relations merely from the perspective of war prevention in Western history is somewhat inadequate.
Although Graham Allison is right to consider the problems of how to prevent a China-US war by considering past history his focus appears exclusively western. he does not appear to consider deeply enough China's own long history, what lessons or implications might be drawn from China's history to prevent Sino-American conflicts. Furthermore, his thinking is too defensive, focusing on fears and military conflict, rather than also considering hopes and opportunities, such as economic and cultural exchanges. Former Amb. McFaul recently called for greater Chinese linguistic and cultural awareness to form the corps of people who will guide and manage U.S. China policies. Perhaps this lack of language or even historical awareness of China on the part of Allison is why? China can be a military challenger but is an economic opportunity and potentially the key to ending poverty world-wide. So understanding US-China relations merely from the perspective of war prevention in Western history is somewhat inadequate.