Arnaud Bertrand: China, the NSS, and a Post-Hegemonic World

Arnaud Bertrand argues that the new US National Security Strategy signals a reluctant American acceptance of a multipolar world and a search for ways to coexist rather than dominate. He contends that China’s worldview is fundamentally non-missionary and oriented toward an integrated global system rather than bloc confrontation, shaped by history and cultural distance from the West. Arnaud suggests that hawkish shifts in Europe and Japan reflect anxiety over US retrenchment, even as Washington itself increasingly recognises China’s leverage and the need to accommodate its core concerns. Ultimately, he warns against a Cold War mentality, urging states to avoid rigid camps and instead pursue flexible, interest-based engagement in a more fluid global order.

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