Rand, the formidable think tank regarded as the mastermind of the U.S. national security state, may be populated by “the wizards of Armageddon,” but when it comes to the rise of China, a holy war is the last thing Rand wants.
Last month, Rand published a report that calls for a modus vivendi between Washington and Beijing to avert the downward spiral in their relations into terminal binary, zero-sum thinking. That, alleges progressive voices in the online world, signals an important shift in U.S. thinking about China and perhaps a fundamental restructuring of that vital relationship.
Not exactly. Yes, the authors warn that a rivalry without limits risks “outright military conflict, economic warfare and political subversion as well as the danger that tensions between the world’s two leading powers will destroy the potential for global consensus on such issues as climate and artificial intelligence.” But that doesn’t mean that the authors, distinguished political scientists who have done a deep dive on great power relations, believe a fundamental restructuring is possible.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.