Ian Bremmer discusses the Thucydides Trap, and the history lesson Harvard professor Graham Allison brought to Trump's National Security Council in 2017: a wake-up call for American and Chinese leaders. Conflict between rival great state powers is likely - but with statecraft, war is not inevitable.

But ... White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon saw Chinese leadership as America's greatest existential danger. As a result, he pressed a harder line with China on tariffs, AI, IP, and Hong Kong protests. If confrontation with China is inevitable, is it better to make a move early? Another question: can the Trump administration contain China without cultivating allies?

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Supporters of the Cockroach Janta Party march toward parliament on the opening day of its monsoon session, demanding the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over exam paper leaks, in New Delhi, India, 20 July, 2026.
REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

In New Delhi, thousands of protesters are marching to Parliament today to demand the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over a growing scandal surrounding the leak of a high-stakes med school entrance exam in May