I have a report up at @defpriorities on why Great Power Competition is not the best way to understand US relations with China and Russia. 1/n https://www.defensepriorities.org/explainers/great-power-competition-as-an-anachronism

Foreign policy convo often revolves around buzzwords, without careful thought about what terms mean. Great power competition as a concept made sense to describe relations between states that were geographically close in an era in which nations fought over territory 2/n

That does not describe current realities. Colonialism and territorial conquest have all but ended, for reasons that include the development of nuclear weapons. Wars still flare up over territories under dispute, but US and its "adversaries" do not have claims on the same land 3/n

Moreover, the idea of inevitable conflict relies on a selective reading of history. As David Kang points out, Western powers have historically been at one another's throats, while China rarely fought wars against its neighbors, including Japan and Korea. 4/n

The US does have territorial disputes with Russia and China in the sense that the US is committed to defending places like Taiwan, etc. But this isn't the inevitable product of "great power competition." It's the US interfering in local disputes that don't affect its security 5/n

Another reason given for great power competition, by the McMasters of the world, is that China and Russia want to remake the world in their image. This doesn't make sense. These countries seek integration into the world order, and do not question its legitimacy. 6/n

In fact, a common gripe they have is that the US itself does not follow the basic rules of international law. Namely, invading other countries and trying to overthrow their govts. Thinkers hostile to China point this out, say it stands in the way of regime change goals. 7/n

In this sense, great power competition to the extent it exists is not an inevitable law of history or due to Chinese or Russian aggression. It is the result of US overextension abroad, seeking to be the dominant power everywhere with the unilateral right to overthrow govs. 8/n

The conflictual framing of great power relations can potentially be harmful. In the midst of the COVID pandemic, the US pulled out of the WHO and reduced cooperation with China. This may be good politics, but is disastrous for humanity. 9/n

I call for delinkage across various policy areas. Does the US feel obliged to help Taiwan defend itself? If so, go ahead, but the framing of China as an "enemy" across various policy domains including trade and pandemic response makes no sense. 10/n

The fates of the great powers are linked. Zero-sum thinking is antithetical to smart policy in the realm of international relations. It's not an exaggeration to say that the future of humanity may depend on the US getting along with China and Russia. 11/n