In trying to understand America’s “great power competition” with China, observers have offered a range of historical analogies. Graham Allison invoked the “Thucydides Trap,” referring to Athens and its war with Sparta, while a recent compilation asked, in reference to World War I, if a U.S.-Chinese clash could be the next great war. But perhaps the Napoleonic Wars offer a better analogy.
Britain ultimately defeated Napoleon because it maintained its alliances better than France. During the long conflict from the 1789 French Revolution to the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, Britain understood that alliances were central to maintaining economic strength, naval dominance, and a favorable balance of power on the continent. These are lessons that would serve the United States well in the South Pacific today. Ideally, by studying this history, the United States could do one better than Britain and avoid the need for a decades-long world war entirely.
