Today, the US and China are the two most powerful states with massive economic, political, and military capabilities that induce their power around the world. For decades, the US has been the leading world power after facing rival great powers, two World Wars and a Cold War. The post-Cold War era allowed the US to reign in global politics as a ‘unipolar state.’ But since a few years, the equation has begun to change. China’s rise to global power has been the most recent and sudden. Given China’s global aspirations are evidently altering the international order. With the slow end of American primacy, Washington now has an unrivaled leader Beijing in the international world order. The world will have to slowly embrace the idea of a ‘clash of systems’ and shift into the competition of ideologies, politics, economy, and military.
This report is rapporteured by Joeana Cera Matthews and Keerthana Rajesh Nambiar are Visiting Research Scholars at the School of Conflict and Security Studies, NIAS.