International security

Pinkerton: The Clash of Civilizations — the Fierce Competition Between the U.S., China, and Every Other Country

Like all nations, the United States is perpetually in competition with other countries. In its 230 years of existence since the Constitution was signed at the Philadelphia convention on September 17, 1787, the U.S. has had to confront just about every other major power on earth, including England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia. In other words, every few decades, our country has faced a substantial, even mortal, threat to its existence.

And China is no exception. For instance, in the Korean War from 1950 to 1953, American forces fought the People’s Republic of China more than they did North Korea; indeed, the soldiers of China’s People’s Liberation Army outnumbered their North Korean allies by a factor of roughly 5 to 1. In that conflict, American KIAs totaled 33,686.

More than six decades later, in 2017, we can all judge for ourselves whether China is a friend, a rival—or a foe lying in wait.