Thucydides’ Notions of Fear, Honor, and Interest in the US-China Strategic Dispute over Taiwan
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53897/REvChinaGR.2025.05.03Keywords:
China, Taiwán, United States, Thucydides, disputeAbstract
This article will describe the main strategic scenarios in the dispute between China and the United States over Taiwan, considering some themes proposed by the historian and political philosopher, Thucydides, developed in his History of the Peloponnesian War. These issues will be examined in light of three components of the current U.S.-China confrontation: 1) the geopolitical situation and its likely future scenario; 2) the economic and technological component; and 3) and, last but not least, the ideological dispute over the Taiwanese political regime.The hypothesis of this paper is that since the rise or fall of China and The United States (or the U.S.) is not guaranteed in the coming years, the battle of the two superpowers over Taiwan will be decided by their behavior in the face of the Thucydidean triad of fear, honor and interest.
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