Beijing’s ambitions shouldn’t be treated as an existential threat to the United States. A central distinction in realist international relations thought is that between vital and secondary national interests. Vital interests are threats to a state’s survival, and can take the form either of conquest and subjugation from outside, or the promotion of internal subversion...Read More

After the long stand-off against communism, victory seemed as total as it was sudden. But the west has since fractured and is now losing prestige and influence—does the reversal expose a moral defeat? As the US prepares to plunge into a new cold war with China in which its chances do not look good, it’s...Read More