The most recent edition of Foreign Policy reveals the findings of a survey of international relations professors in the United States. Inside the Ivory Tower highlights the professors’ views on US foreign policy priorities and rising powers. When asked which country they would fear surpassing the US as the world’s hegemon, Russia topped the list with 60 percent followed closely by China (51%).
Who most threatens the US position in the world? While only 30 percent of the nation’s professors perceive East Asia as the region of greatest concern to US security today, a strong majority see Asia’s steady rise – 68 percent view East Asia as the area with the “greatest strategic importance in 20 years.” Nearly half of the respondents (43%) identify China’s burgeoning military capability as a possible threat to international stability.
The academics also name climate change as the most important foreign policy challenge for the US.