Charles L. Glaser, "Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China" (Cornell UP, 2025)
About this episode
Charles L. Glaser discusses his book on securing US interests against a rising China, focusing on strategic policy adjustments.
In Retrench, Defend, Compete: Securing America's Future Against a Rising China (Cornell UP, 2025), Charles L. Glaser advances a thought-provoking strategy for securing vital US interests in the face of China's rise. Many believe China's ascent will drive it to war with the United States. Yet this is far from inevitable; geography and nuclear weapons should ensure US security. The real danger, Glaser contends, lies in East Asia's territorial disputes, especially over Taiwan. To reduce the risk of war, Glaser makes a bold case for ending US security commitments to Taiwan and carefully calibrating its policies on protecting South China Sea maritime features. The United States should also strengthen its alliances with Japan and South Korea and eliminate unnecessarily provocative nuclear and conventional weapons policies. These measures, Glaser argues, would defuse China's biggest security concerns while preserving America's core strategic interests. Fusing theoretical insights with policy analysis, Retrench, Defend, Compete lays out a distinctive and compelling approach for managing the world's most consequential geopolitical rivalry—before it's too late. Our guest is Professor…
People in this episode
Host: Eleonora Mattiacci
Guest: Charles L. Glaser
Topics covered
- US-China relations
- geopolitical strategy
- nuclear policy
- territorial disputes
- international security
- Taiwan
- East Asia
Keywords
- US interests
- China
- geopolitical rivalry
- nuclear weapons
- Taiwan
- South China Sea
- alliances
- security policy
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: MIT Security Studies Program, Cornell UP
Places: United States, China, East Asia, Taiwan, South China Sea, Japan, South Korea
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