The Two-Leviathan Problem: Why Rival Hegemons Cannot Coexist

A major theoretical statement on why a world with two hegemons is dangerous and unstable

Should the United States—the dominant power in the Western Hemisphere since the late nineteenth century—fear another great power rising to a similar position elsewhere in the world? This is a vital question on which there is little agreement, yet until now no one has analyzed in a rigorous way what a world of rival hegemons would look like. In this book, Joshua Byun and John J. Mearsheimer argue that such a world would be far more dangerous than our current world. Being the world’s only regional hegemon is so advantageous that, in a world with two, each side would have an overwhelming incentive to erode the other’s dominance in its neighborhood. Intense security competition would compromise each state’s ability to defend its security interests and accumulate wealth.

This book is for anyone seeking to understand what would happen if China were to dominate East Asia, and how the balance of power in distant regions affects U.S. national security.