China and the United States: Power Transition and the Role of the Superpower in the 21st Century — Presentation Detail — Celebration of Scholars

Instructions

Student presentations must have a faculty sponsor.

Abstracts must include a title and a description of the research, scholarship, or creative work. The description should be 150-225 words in length and constructed in a format or style appropriate for the presenter’s discipline.

The following points should be addressed within the selected format or style for the abstract:

A clear statement of the problem or question you pursued, or the scholarly goal or creative theme achieved in your work.
A brief comment about the significance or uniqueness of the work.
A clear description of the methods used to achieve the purpose or goals for the work.
A statement of the conclusions, results, outcomes, or recommendations, or if the work is still in progress, the results you expect to report at the event.

Presenter photographs should be head and shoulder shots comparable to passport photos.

Additional Information

More information is available at carthage.edu/celebration-scholars/. The following are members of the Research, Scholarship, and Creativity Committee who are eager to listen to ideas and answer questions:

Jun Wang
Kim Instenes
John Kirk
Nora Nickels
Andrew Pustina
James Ripley

China and the United States: Power Transition and the Role of the Superpower in the 21st Century

Name: Barton Rosser
Major: Political Science and Chinese
Hometown: Northfield, IL
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Senior thesis

Abstract

For much of the 20th century, the United States enjoyed the status of global superpower. Now, China is poised to challenge that dominance. China will surpass the United States as the dominant global superpower in the near future, and it is possible for this transition to happen peacefully without any major military or economic conflict between the two nations.

This thesis will examine whether China can surpass the United States as a superpower, and how that can be done without causing major economic or military conflict with the United States. Power transition literature will be examined, and the theories presented by the literature will be compared to modern US/China relations. The qualifications of a superpower will be examined, and the military, economic, and political responsibilities of the USSR and twentieth century United States will be compared to modern day China. Ultimately, this paper will conclude that, while such a transition by China is unlikely in the near future, it is almost certain to be peaceful because of the strong economic links between the United States and China.

Poster file