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Op-ed

Published:

The Geography of a U.S.-China War

Written by

Henrik Stålhane Hiim
Professor, IFS
Øystein Tunsjø
Professor, IFS

Ed.

Preview_The Geography of a U.S.-China War_Warfare

Summary:

Øystein Tunsjø (IFS) and Henrik Stålhane Hiim (IFS) believe that the trend of comparing the current US-China relationship with the Cold War is misleading because the geography is different. The rivalry between the US and China is located in maritime East Asia, especially Taiwan, and in a maritime area of ​​operations it is easier to keep a war limited than in a land conflict, which paradoxically lowers the threshold for going to war. At the same time, the threshold for limited use of nuclear weapons is also lower in a maritime scenario.
  • Published year: 2025
  • Full version: Read here
  • Publisher: Lawfare
  • Language: English

Themes

  • Defence
  • Security policy
  • Foreign policy
  • Asia
  • North America

Written by

Henrik Stålhane Hiim
Professor, IFS
Øystein Tunsjø
Professor, IFS