When Order Bends: Takeuchi’s Take on the US–China Rivalry and the Future of the Liberal International Order

 

The question is no longer simply whether China is rising. It is what that rise means for the international order that China itself has already learned to navigate.

This was among the broader questions posed by Prof. Takeuchi Toshitaka during his discussion of contemporary international politics in his visiting lecture at CGEM Hall 1 of Mindanao State University-Iligan Institute of Technology (MSU-IIT) on Thursday, September 17. 

He placed the US–China rivalry within an examination of power transition and the uncertain future of the Liberal International Order.

Using Thucydides’ Trap, Takeuchi framed the US–China rivalry as part of a recurring pattern of power transition in which rising powers challenge established ones, citing 16 previous cases, 12 of which resulted in war. The caveat in this case, however, is that both powers are nuclear-armed states.

Beyond historical patterns, Takeuchi further pointed out how China’s past has had an enduring influence on how the country has been shaping its future, following what it calls its “century of humiliation”—a narrative that has remained integral to understanding China’s rise and its growing role in a changing international system. 

Written by Jezreel Jeanne Caparoso
Proofread by Fame Orong