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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A banner reading "Buy Canadian", in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on goods from Canada, is held aloft by a pair of hockey sticks in front of a house in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada March 5, 2025.
REUTERS/Ed White

Washington and Ottawa are down to the wire with last-minute talks to reach an agreement by 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, when President Donald Trump has threatened to impose 50% tariffs on over $20 billion of Canadian goods.

A staff member holds a dummy as staff and customers take shelter at a storage room, during an air raid exercise at a PX Mart supermarket as part of the civil defence drills in Taipei, Taiwan. July 10, 2025.
REUTERS/Annabelle Chih

As the line between the battlefield and everyday life blurs, countries are increasingly preparing civilians for the next war.