On June 2, Kelly Grieco published an op-ed in The National Interest, calling out US policymakers for substituting the vague concept of competition for a strategy with defined means and ends.
“Above all, competition itself is not a strategy. It offers only a description of the strategic environment. And it is hardly a novel one. Great power competition is as old as the Westphalian system itself—and our age is no different. Strategy, however, requires a theory that links means to ends. By treating competition as a means rather than a defining feature of great power relations, the Biden administration’s China strategy avoids confronting any tradeoffs. It succumbs to the fallacy that if the United States simply tries harder, it can sustain primacy forever. But failing to come to terms with the world as it is will tragically accelerate American decline,” Grieco said.
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