Beckley, Michael

Michael Beckley is an associate professor of political science at Tufts University and a non-resident senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. In Dangerzone: The Coming Conflict with China (W. W. Norton & Company), co-authored with Hal Brands, he provides a provocative and urgent analysis of the United States-China rivalry. These superpowers are in a contest of clashing geopolitical interests and an ideological dispute over whether authoritarianism or democracy will dominate the 21st century. According to the authors, history and China’s current trajectory suggest that this rivalry will reach its moment of maximum danger in the 2020s. Rising powers become most aggressive when their fortunes fade and difficulties multiply, and they realize they must achieve their ambitions now or miss the chance to do so forever. China has already started down this path. Over the long run, the Chinese challenge will likely prove more manageable than many pessimists currently believe – but during the 2020s, the prospect of war will be frighteningly real. The U.S. needs a near-term strategy to navigate this danger zone ahead.