Rising Titans, Falling Giants

Abstract: As a rising great power flexes its muscles on the political-military scene it must examine how to manage its relationships with states suffering from decline; and it has to do so in a careful and strategic manner. In Rising Titans, Falling Giants Joshua Shifrinson focuses on the policies that rising states adopt toward their declining competitors in response to declining states' policies, and what that means for the relationship between the two.

Bio: Joshua Shifrinson is an Associate Professor with the School of Public Policy. An expert on contemporary international security, his research engages broad issues of great power politics, U.S. foreign policy, and diplomatic history. Recent projects include a re-examination of the sources and consequences of NATO enlargement, U.S. policy toward Russia and China, and the evolution of American grand strategy during and after the Cold War. Cornell University Press published his first book, Rising Titans, Falling Giants: How Great Powers Exploit Power Shifts in 2018; he is presently finishing another volume detailing the uses and abuses of archival research for international relations topics. Other work has appeared in International Security, the Journal of Strategic Studies, International Politics, Foreign Affairs, and the Washington Quarterly, and has been supported by the Stanton Foundation, CKF, and Bridging the Gap Project. In addition to his research, Dr. Shifrinson is a frequent commentator on international security and great power relations for a variety of media outlets.