Evaluating threats to America’s national security is a challenge that is undertaken by academics, intelligence analysts, policy-makers, and anyone else with the patience. During the Cold War, America’s biggest concern was easy to define, the only other state capable of competing with America, the Soviet Union. Today, America faces threats from states, non-state actors, domestic groups, and even economic conditions. However, two states should always be kept in mind when discussing national security, China and Russia, with China being the biggest threat. China is the most populous state in the world, with over 1.3 trillion inhabitants (Central Intelligence Agency 2010). Because of its large population base, China also has the largest military …show more content…
Economically, Russia is very competitive, yet is not growing at the same rate as America and China (Central Intelligence Agency 2010). In addition, Russia’s outdated infrastructure is Moscow-centric, which does not encourage much growth outside of the Moscow region (Encyclopedia of the Nations 2010). Despite its economic shortcomings, Russia maintains a relatively modern military, because of the Cold War arms race against America; however, the Soviet strategy of mass building cheap equipment is being replaced by the Russian strategy of designing and building new equipment that is technologically closer to America (Gutterman 2010). Once Russia completes its transformation into a more modernized fighting force, it will be the largest military threat America …show more content…
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One of the biggest fears of the American people is that the concept of communism contrasts drastically from the concept of capitalism, which the United States was essentially founded upon. The United States, as the public believed, was not a land of perfect communal equality, but rather a land of equal opportunity. However, what made communism so dangerous can be succinctly described by Eisenhower who compared the spread of communism as the domino effect. As his secretary of state, Dulles, put it, the propagation of communism “would constitute a threat to the sovereignty and independence” of America (Doc B). In addition, the Cold War also planted the seeds of rational fear of a global nuclear war. As Russia caught up to the United States in terms of technological advancements, they successfully developed the atomic bomb as well as the hydrogen bomb, which caused Americans to believe that the USSR would use these weapons of mass destruction to forcefully extend their ideologies to the USA. In fact, Americans were so frantic about a potential nuclear disaster that it...
On the other hand, hard-core realists predict that since China’s economy is on the rise, and United States economy is declining, it may create conflict. During World War I, a war occurred between England, a declining dominant hegemony, and Germany, a dissatisfied challenger on the rise (Wong, The Rise of Great Powers, Nov.18). However, war will not spark between China and...
Sulick, Michael J.. Spying in America espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Cold War., Georgetown University Press, 2012
The Chinese navy in the early 1400’s was very powerful but unfortunately it grew weaker and weaker over time. The cause of this was that China ran into political problems which prevented future voyages.
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Though the Cold War is over, and the threat that has loomed over the United States and the rest of the world that depended on the United States for military support for the better part of this century has largely been eradicated, does not mean that there are no longer any security threats to the United States. The United States remains cautious in regards to the unstable status that Russia frequently seems to be in, as well as security threats from other nations like Iraq, and to some degree China.
Shambaugh, David, “Lifting the EU Arms Embargo on China: An American Perspective”, Discussion paper prepared for the CSIS/SWP conference “China’s Rise: Diverging U.S.- EU Approaches and Perceptions,” Berlin, April 28-29, 2005
Consequently, Russia offers U.S. businesses both high risk, and potentially high rewards. Russian firms and customers admire U.S. technology and know-how, and generally are interested in doing business with U.S. companies. At the same time, there is a tendency in some quarters to suppose that the U.S. is responsible for the changes which have occurred in Russia, especially those which have caused most hardship to individuals and to industry. This sentiment has attracted the support of some political leaders, and in given credence by a significant proportion of the populace. At the same time, a strong U.S. commercial presence is viewed in the Russian Far East as a counterbalance to other regional economic powers.
The United States faces countless threats on both home front and aboard. The countries that pose the greatest threat to U.S. national security are China, Iran, and Russia. Anyone of these countries could inflict grave damage to the United States, resulting in catastrophic results. I’ll compare and contrast these countries 5 intelligence disciplines to determine which country poses the biggest threat to U.S. national security.
In United States the economy has changed over the years the government wants their people to be more competitive and more marketable compared to other country such china. Many people have come to the conclusion that China may be a threat in the near future because of their growing economy and increasing influence in the world.
The claim that one nation is more powerful than the other is irrelevant. Comparing Russia and the United States economies is basically based on how weak analysis believe the Russian Federation really is. Many experts predicted the collapse of Russian economy (Aleksashenko,2016). Why should investors choose the United States over Russia? The United States is business friendly, has a better quality of life, and plenty of infrastructure and workforce factors.
From the beginning of their establishment, the bilateral relations between the United States of America and China have changed throughout the time. The bilateral relations of the two countries emerged from 1970’s with the ‘Ping-Pong’ diplomacy and there have been many pauses in their mutual relations. The US and China enjoyed cooperation in economic and military spheres and the mutual relations grew massively during until the end of 1990’s. The heads of the two states began visiting each other’s countries and the economic ties were tightening year by year. However, the issues of human rights and free speech declined mutual Sino-American relations. The American principle of democracy promotion and human rights protection minimized the Sino- American relations after the Tiananmen Square events in 1989, the US Presidents-George Bush and Bill Clinton- playing a key role in determining the further American foreign policy towards China.
In the race to be the best, China is clearly outperforming the United States. China has strong economic fundamentals¬ such as “a high savings rate, huge labor pool, and powerful work ethic” (Rachman, Gideon. "Think Again: American Decline). Their economy has grown an astonishing 9-10% over the past thirty years; almost double of what it used to be decades ago. China is also the “world’s greatest manufacturer and its greatest market” (Rachman). The continuing growth of China's economy is a source of concern for not only the U.S. but surrounding nations as well. One could argue that the U.S. need not worry about China’s growth because of the spread of globalization and that western ideologies would influence China to turn to democracy. Yet China has still managed to “incorporate censorship and one party rule with continuing economic success” (Rachman) and remains a communist country. Hypothetically, even if China does resort to a democratic state, this does not gua...
Wei-Wei Zhang. (2004). The Implications of the Rise of China. Foresight, Vol. 6 Iss: 4, P. 223 – 226.