Thucydides Trap , also referred to as Thucydides's Trap, is a term popularized by American political scientist Graham T. Allison to describe an apparent tendency towards war when an emerging power threatens to displace an existing great power as a regional or international hegemon. It was coined and is primarily used to describe a potential conflict between the United States and the People's Republic of China. The term is based on a quotation of ancient Athenian historian and military general Thucydides, in which he posited that the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta had been inevitable because of Spartan fears of the growth of Athenian power. link , link . Context: We were aware of Russia, but we tended to regard it as the little yapping dog to China’s larger and more patient beast. I can mumble the arguments in my sleep: Russia’s economy is the size of Italy’s; it has one tenth the population of China; its aggression is really just desperation by Putin; haven’t you...
marcescent [ˌmärˈses(ə)nt] mar•ces•cent ADJECTIVE botany (of leaves or fronds) withering but remaining attached to the stem. withering but not falling off, as a part of a plant. marcescence [marcescence] DEFINITION noun form of marcescent Source: My sister Kathleen Williams used the word in conversation while we were taking a walk.
I have been mostly retired for about the last three years. Unfortunately, I am not doing what I want with my retirement due to the confines of caring for my invalid wife. Still, I am making the best of it. I do not have near as much time in retirement as I thought I would and sometimes wonder where the time goes. A lot of my time goes to blogging. I have blogged for about twelve years, now. My blog, called A Disgruntled Republican , takes a lot of my time. Much of that time is simply devoted to being informed. One thing I have found in retirement is time to read at a more leisurely pace. I have read National Review most of my adult life, but always was behind on the reading and never took the time to read the "other" parts of the magazine. I would read the news analysis and feature articles, but seldom read the humor column or the book reviews or movie reviews. I don't think I had ever read until recently the "Arts and Manners" section....
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