Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe by Niall Ferguson review
(Evening Standard) – From plagues and volcanic eruptions to the current Covid pandemic, mankind has always been faced with catastrophes.
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Evan Feigenbaum: Beijing Doesn’t Think Like Washington
Arguing that Chinese policy is hung on alliances—with imputations of obligation—misses the point.
In this timely analysis, Evan A. Feigenbaum challenges the growing narrative that China is a “feckless friend” to authoritarian partners such as Iran and Venezuela. While some American strategists interpret Beijing’s refusal to “rescue” regimes like those of Ayatollah Khamenei or Nicolás Maduro as weakness, Feigenbaum argues the opposite: China’s posture is deliberate by design.
Unlike the United States, China does not build alliances with binding security commitments. Western analysts often project American logic onto Chinese strategy—assuming Beijing will defend its partners as Washington defends Tokyo or NATO allies. But China’s relationships with countries like Iran and Venezuela were never structured as security alliances with formal obligations.
Feigenbaum explains that China’s core security priorities remain concentrated in East Asia. Rather than entangling itself in costly peripheral conflicts, Beijing focuses on strengthening its regional military capabilities, reducing vulnerabilities near its borders, and advancing economic and technological influence globally.
China’s global posture is better understood through a market metaphor than a geopolitical one: Beijing diversifies its partnerships rather than tying its fortunes to any single regime. In the Middle East and Latin America alike, China maintains broad relationships across rival states, providing trade, infrastructure investment, diplomatic backing, and limited security cooperation—but avoiding commitments that would require military intervention.
Ultimately, Feigenbaum argues that interpreting China’s restraint as weakness reflects a fundamental misunderstanding. Beijing is not failing to act like the United States—it is intentionally choosing not to.
Visit Carnegie Endowment to read the full article.
Evan Feigenbaum, a former diplomat, has been an advisor to two American Secretaries of State, a former Treasury Secretary, the CEOs and boards of leading companies, and investment funds in all asset classes. He has negotiated with dictators and ex-guerillas, written a book on China as a high-tech superpower, and worked with and in countries from China to India, Australia to Kazakhstan. He is vice president for studies of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the world’s oldest international affairs think tank. To host him for a speaking opportunity, contact WWSG.
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