Thucydides Trap: USA Hegemony & Rise of China in Multiplex World in the Context of Power Transition

This study investigates the issue of the modern world and the destiny that China’s rise is. A further point is that unipolarity of the system of world power has not been shattered by US hegemony. The notion of Thucydides’ Trap is that a hegemon (the US) is confronted by another superpower (China) and makes a perception about the nature of the cooperative environment of the contemporary world. Historically, such transformation has invariably led to violence, such as war, whenever the dominant political power seeks to control and maintain the position of power. This study explores the nature of the trade war and tensions between China and the United States. This paper investigates the tension that China’s rise will create on the existing global order, and further ask why the bipolar pattern of the US hegemonic power will again persist. In the present study, qualitative approach is used, that is, based on the historically rich anecdote and professional literature, as well as experts’ views, in order to understand the current issues in US and China. Summing up, from the perspective of the realist paradigm, in this article, aiming at the change of power, while analyzing the nature of power politics, the nature of trade war and Sino-US strategic relations is discussed. It is contingent on state behavior, power politics and national interest and so provides a more relevant framework in which to understand the proliferation and attenuation of conflict and cooperation in global change. This study takes great significance as it is related to the tension between the US and China that drastically affects global peace and stability, as well as policy actions and strategies, and, consequently, issues. These results shed light on the relevance of historical Thucydides’ Trap in the case of U.S.-China relations and raise questions about intellectual rivalry. They also describe the strategies and tactics in the campaign to mitigate the risk of China’s ascendency and dominance to global power. This paper promotes thinking and re affirms multilateralism to offset the misperception between China and the US. It also advanced a reactive approach to promote economic and security collaboration between nations as a preventive measure against war.
Keywords: Thucydides Trap, Hegemony, Multilateralism, Realism, Power transition and Unipolarity.