The Stagnant Order
What happens when rising powers stop rising? How an aging, slower-growing world could create new dangers—and unexpected possibilities for a more stable international order.
Read essay
Writing & Media
Essays and conversations on power, prosperity, and a changing world.
Selected essays
The China Hangover Is Here
China once helped pull developing countries upward. Its slowdown is now sending a very different shock through the global economy.
Read essay
A New Engine of Development
The old ladder out of poverty is breaking. How can poorer countries build a new route to prosperity—and why should rich countries help?
Read essay
The Strange Triumph of a Broken America
How can a country so divided at home remain so powerful abroad? The answer reveals a surprising connection between American strength and dysfunction.
Read essay
The Middle Power Delusion
Caught between Washington and Beijing, countries want more room to maneuver. But diplomatic ambition is running up against the hard limits of power.
Read essay
There Is Only One Sphere of Influence
A secure home region gives Washington freedoms its rivals lack. That imbalance explains both the reach of American power and the danger of misusing it.
Read essay
No One Should Want to See a Dictator Get Old
Unchecked power, grand ambitions, and a shrinking sense of time: why aging dictators can become more dangerous rather than mellowing out.
Read essay
The Age of American Unilateralism
America’s turn inward does not mean it is withdrawing from the world. What happens when a powerful country increasingly decides to go its own way?
Read essay
Delusions of Détente
Better communication can manage a rivalry. It cannot make the conflicting interests behind U.S.–China competition disappear.
Read essay
Watch & Listen
“Danger Zone” Author Warns of Growing Tension Between China and the U.S.
A conversation with Dave Davies about China’s military buildup, its economic pressures, and the risks ahead.
Listen to the interview
Has China’s Power Peaked? Ian Bremmer vs. Michael Beckley
Two competing views of China’s trajectory—and what each implies for the rest of the world.
Watch the debate
China’s Long-Term Limits—and Near-Term Dangers
Why China may become a less competitive long-term rival while posing a more explosive near-term threat to the United States and its allies.
Watch the conversation
China, Russia Experts Call Out the “Uneasy Relationship Behind the Facade”
With Christiane Amanpour and Vladimir Milov, a closer look at what binds Xi and Putin—and what divides them.
Watch the interview
Peak China and the Risk of Conflict
How a powerful China facing slower growth and narrowing opportunities can become more dangerous—and what that means for Taiwan and U.S. strategy.
Watch the conversation
Professor Answers China Questions
A lively tour of China, from Taiwan and technology to the questions Western audiences most often get wrong.
Watch the explainer
U.S.–China Relations, Explained
A concise guide to the rivalry shaping global security, trade, and technology.
Watch the explainer