How the US-China rivalry is reshaping global power, democracy, and the international order.
A new cold war is unfolding—one that will define the future of the international order. In Lessons from the New Cold War, editor Hal Brands assembles an all-star cast of the most influential thinkers in foreign policy, defense strategy, technology, and economics to grapple with the defining geopolitical rivalry of our time: the competition between the United States and China.
Over the past decade, Washington has placed its contest with Beijing at the center of its national strategy, forging a rare consensus across the political spectrum. But as this global confrontation intensifies—across supply chains, the Taiwan Strait, and cyberspace—key questions remain. Where is America succeeding? Where is it falling short? And how can it prepare for what lies ahead? Through a sweeping analysis that spans cutting-edge technology, economic decoupling, and military strategy, this book explores the multilayered nature of the conflict.
Contributors examine China's assertive economic statecraft and its ambitions for a new global order, the shifting nuclear balance and the intelligence war, the complex web of Indo-Pacific alliances, and the ideological struggle over democracy and authoritarianism. Covering vital topics like semiconductor supremacy, democracy's durability, India's strategic role, and the future of US leadership, this incisive collection offers an unflinching assessment of the New Cold War's stakes—and a roadmap for navigating its challenges. Essential reading for policymakers, scholars, and anyone concerned with the global balance of power, it is a vital guide to a rivalry that is reshaping the twenty-first century.
Table of Contents Introduction, by Hal Brands Trade, Technology, and Economics 1. America First vs. China's Brute Force Economics, by Liza Tobin 2. Assessing the U.S.-China Chip Competition, by Chris Miller 3. China's Economic Statecraft and the U.S. Response, by Audrye Wong 4. The Missing Pillar: Economic Contingency Planning in an Era of U.S.-China Competition, by Hugo Bromley and Eyck Freymann Allies, Partners, and the Struggle for Asia 5. Allies, Partners, and Strategic Competition with China, by Michael J. Green 6. Great Expectations: India Amid U.S.-China Competition, by Ashley J. Tellis 7. Understanding the Evolving Defense Competition with China, by Michael J. Mazarr 8. The Denial Dilemma in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, by Zack Cooper 9. Shifting Nuclear Postures and U.S.-China Rivalry, by Francis J. Gavin Politics, Strategy, Intelligence, and Values 10. Asia First Debate, by Kori Schake 11. The U.S.-PRC Intelligence Competition: A Preliminary Assessment, by Peter Mattis 12. The Battle for Soft Power: U.S.-China Ideological Competition in the 2020s, by Larry Diamond and Frances Hisgen 13. China, Domestic Politics, and America's Global Role, by Peter Feaver and William Inboden America and China in a Shifting Global Order 14. China's Global Governance Gambit, by Elizabeth Economy 15. Great Changes: Xi, Trump, and the Remaking of Global Order, by Jude Blanchette 16. Competitive Antiliberalism: How Geoeconomics, Security, and Values Define Chinese and American Worldviews in the 2020s and Beyond, by Rana Mitter 17. U.S.-China Rivalry in a Shifting International System, by Michael Beckley
Hal Brands is the Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. A columnist for Bloomberg Opinion, he is also the author or editor of several books, including The Eurasian Century: Hot Wars, Cold Wars, and the Making of the Modern World and War in Ukraine: Conflict, Strategy, and the Return of a Fractured World.
