Great Power Competition Series

The Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations and the ASU Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law presents a series of renowned speakers on the Great Power Competition.

The U.S. security strategy has focused on the global war on terrorism since the attacks of September 11, 2001 and while terrorism still exists, the past two administrations have identified Great Power Competition as the political construct guiding U.S. foreign policy. The decline of U.S. global influence, competition from a rising China and a revanchist Russia is the new principal threat of Great Power Competition.

While the Cold War showcased the ideological battle between democracy and communism, the dissolution of the Soviet Union put an end to the threat of communism. However, democracy is under increased threat and China, with its state-controlled economy and Beijing and Moscow's increasingly heavy-handed authoritarian systems, is challenging democracy. In 2017, then-Defense Secretary James Mattis proclaimed that "great-power competition—not terrorism—is now the primary focus of U.S. national security."

Speaker

Join us as Richard Fontaine, CEO of the Center for a New American Security, discusses how the U.S.-China rivalry has emerged as a defining feature of today's world, with competition rising along with tension. Amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Beijing's alignment with Moscow stresses its relations with the United States even more.

His remarks will discuss the nature of U.S.-China competition today, the global implications of it and where things may go from here.