This conversation with historian and IR scholar Daniel Bessner explores a question shaping global politics: Would the U.S. actually go to war with China over Taiwan?

Bessner argues that we are entering a new era—one where U.S. dominance is no longer guaranteed, and regional powers like China will play a much larger role in shaping their own neighborhoods.

We discuss:

• Why the U.S. may avoid direct conflict with China
• What a U.S. retreat from East Asia could look like
• The idea of a world divided into spheres of influence
• Whether a more stable global order is possible

This is a different way of thinking about U.S.–China relations—less about ideology, and more about power, limits, and historical change.