Thucydides Trap not etched in stone

Editor's Note: Graham T. Allison, political scientist and professor at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, has written two articles - in Financial Times in August 2012 and The New York Times in July 2013 - cautioning China and the United States not to fall into the Thucydides Trap, where a rising power causes fear in an established power which leads to a war. As tensions between China and the US escalate on trade and regional issues, the term Thucydides Trap is being widely used. Following are the views of three international relations scholars through thepaper.cn on the subject.

Chinese idiom can promote ties

If China as a rising power is seen as the fundamental cause of a potential war with an established power, that is, the US, it will be blamed for the worsening bilateral ties. While the US can always say its China policy is based on normal security concerns, China will have to shoulder the entire responsibility of improving bilateral relations. The Thucydides Trap has become a catchword for many commentators because they want to put China in a disadvantageous position and allow the US to occupy the historical and moral high ground.