Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly invoked the "Thucydides Trap" concept—the theory that war between a dominant and rising power is inevitable—in discussions with U.S. presidents, casting China as Athens and America as declining Sparta. A University of Birmingham classicist argues the historical analogy is flawed, contending that Athens was actually the dominant power, Sparta's motivations were more complex, and neither ancient state resembles modern superpowers.
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Chinese leader Xi Jinping has repeatedly invoked the "Thucydides Trap" concept—the theory that war between a dominant and rising power is inevitable—in discussions with U.S. presidents, casting China as Athens and America as declining Sparta. A University of Birmingham classicist argues the historical analogy is flawed, contending that Athens was actually the dominant power, Sparta's motivations were more complex, and neither ancient state resembles modern superpowers.