Foreword

By Ashley J. Tellis

Acknowledgements

Major Findings

PART I. FRAMING AND CONSIDERING PAST ERAS OF GREAT POWER COMPETITION

1. Introduction to Evolving Great Power Competition at Mid-Decade
By Thomas F. Lynch III
 

2. Historical Insights Into Great Power Competition: Military Alignments, Economics, and Institutions
By Thomas F. Lynch III

PART II. OVERARCHING GREAT POWER COMPETITION AT MID-DECADE: EVOLVING ASSESSMENTS

3a. Mid-Decade Great Power Geostrategic Dynamics: Evolving Strategies and Trajectories
By Thomas F. Lynch III, Jeffrey Mankoff, and Philip C. Saunders


3b. Mid-Decade Great Power Geostrategic Dynamics: Evolving Capabilities and Tool Sets
By Thomas F. Lynch III, Jeffrey Mankoff, and Philip C. Saunders

PART III. GREAT POWER COMPETITION AT MID-DECADE IN CRITICAL FUNCTIONAL AREAS AND ACTIVITIES

4. Great Power Competition in Innovation, Key Technologies, and Advanced Manufacturing
By T.X. Hammes
 

5. Recursive Exploitation: The Feedback Loop of Espionage and Innovation in China’s 5G, AI, and Quantum Technology
By Richard B. Andres
 

6. Great Power Competition in Space, 2025–2030
By John Hickman
 

7. The Future of Nuclear Weapons, Arms Control and a New Paradigm in Great Power Strategic Deterrence?
By William T. Eliason and Thomas F. Lynch III
 

8. Great Power Competition in the Age of Environmental Instability
By Jeremy T. Mathis and Natalle Cawston-Gibson
 

PART IV. GEOSTRATEGIC GREAT POWER COMPETITION ACROSS CRITICAL REGIONS

9. The Indo-Pacific Competitive Space: From Japan to the Indian Ocean Region
By Thomas F. Lynch III and Joel Wuthnow
 

10. Europe and Great Power Competition: Evolving Dynamics in the Shadow of the Russo-Ukraine War
By Liana Fix and Benjamin Harris
 

11. The Global South: South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian Ocean Region
By Thomas F. Lynch III
 

12. The Global South: Africa and the Middle East
By Thomas F. Lynch III, Jeffrey Mankoff, and Dawn C. Murphy
 

13. Great Power Competition in Latin America and the Caribbean
By Douglas Farah and Marianne Richardson
 

PART V. GREAT POWER STRATEGIC COMPETITION MOVING FORWARD

14. Conclusion: The Trajectory of Great Power Competition at Mid-Decade
By Thomas F. Lynch III

List of Contributors