American Ascendancy: The Transition from British to American Dominance of the International Order

Kori Schake, a Hoover research fellow and member of the Military History/Contemporary Conflict Working Group, discusses China’s rise and whether its transition to world leader can be managed peacefully. Most such transitions are violent. The only peaceful transition of world powers in the history of the world was from Britain to the United States. Why was that transition peaceful and what can we learn from it as China gains power?