STST3002 Study Guide - Final Guide: Indo-Pacific, North Asia, Global Governance
Reading journal – tutorial 2 – week 3
U6071409
Beckley, Michael, 'China's Century? Why America's edge will
endure', International Security, 36:3, 41-78.
• Beckley is ultimately rebutting each claim of the declinist viewpoint which
argues that as China is rising, the U.S. is in decline due to globalisation.
• He argues that the declinist’s do not discuss a comprehensive range of
factors, nor do they discuss a large timeline of Chinese and U.S. power. An
example of where he refutes the declinist argument in saying “…but once
again the declinist case tells only part of the story” in reference to the
globalisation discussion. (p52)
• Beckley challenges the declinist viewpoints over the following topics:
globalisation and hegemony (costly or profitably?).
• The hegemony discussion that the U.S. is experiencing a “hegemon’s
dilemma”, most evident across the factors of security, finance and trade.
o Beckley disproves this declinist claim in saying that the U.S. is both
“system-maker and privilege-taker” so is not experiencing a costly
hegemon position in world politics.
• Beckley analyses the ‘Decline Debate’ and concludes that the argument that
the U.S. is in decline due to Chinese rise and globalisation is outdated and
based on false assumptions, with the laws of history instead not being
applicable to world politics.
• Beckley asks the question of how national power should be evaluated,
answering by again refuting the viewpoint of declinists by saying that national
power is ‘multifaceted’.
• This foreign policy academic journal is a well-constructed and well-argued
piece.
• The journal attempts to resolve a longstanding debate of the relative power of
the two great powers of the 21st century.
• Beckley concludes that “America’s Edge Will Endure” and provides tentative
foreign advice for the U.S. (preservation of the quite beneficial status quo),
rejecting the advice of the declinists (adoption of a “neomercantilist
international economic policy” and disengagement from current alliance
commitments).
• Written in the end of 2011/early 2012, the argument that the U.S. is not
actually in decline faced with China’s rise is an acceptable argument but still
garners some scepticism.
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