Source: Bloggingheads.tv
Robert Kagan and Francis Fukuyama debated the consequences of China and Russia’s growing power and whether these two powerful autocracies can successfully integrate into an international system dominated by liberal democracies.
Kagan argued that both American dominance and weakness have been exaggerated since the end of the Cold War. Regardless, the United States is still in a “unique position” and should not sacrifice its core interests in pursuit of “an illusory era of cooperation” with Russia and China.
Fukuyama countered that the importance of economic interests in the current international system reduces the threat posed by rising powers, particularly in China’s case: “I hesitate to view nations as, first and foremost, economic maximizers.”
Kagan responded, arguing that “resentments, …ambitions, and beliefs” are powerful determinants of national behavior that will complicate any effort to manage China and Russia’s rise.