From the Bookshelf of Deep State Radio Book Group…

Safe Passage: The Transition from British to American Hegemony

Kori Schake

Start date: January 1, 2019

Finish date: February 28, 2019

Discussion: Previously Read

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Previously Read

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What Members Thought

Feb 21, 2018 John Mosman rated it it was amazing

Shelves: history, foreign-affairs

I read this book after listening to Kori on the Deep State Radio podcast for many months. This US history from a different perspective of American hegemony taking over from the British on the world stage. The book relates many instances between the US and Britain which might have ended in war, from Spanish-American war, Oregon boundary and of course WWI and WWII. The British were close to recognizing the Confederacy at one point. Kori leads us through these parts and more of our history with Bri ...more

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Jan 16, 2019 GrandpaBooks rated it really liked it

This is a terrific expansive review by Kori Schake of one of the handful of exceptions to the Thucydides's Trap, the challenge of an ascending America to a well established Britain.

Luckily I had already read "Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?" by Graham Allison which outlined 16 instances of an ascending power challenging the established power, 12 of which ended in war. While the Allison book does include the America versus Britain transition, it does not go into This is a terrific expansive review by Kori Schake of one of the handful of exceptions to the Thucydides's Trap, the challenge of an ascending America to a well established Britain.

Luckily I had already read "Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?" by Graham Allison which outlined 16 instances of an ascending power challenging the established power, 12 of which ended in war. While the Allison book does include the America versus Britain transition, it does not go into great depth or recognise as many historical touch points as Schake's book does.

Schake demonstrates in her thorough and thoughtful analysis the number of times that America and Britain could have fallen into the trap but didn't, usually due to the more 'mature' foreign policy of Britain than the 'righteous' foreign policy of America (in that sense it reminded me of a parent trying to deal with a child and teenager growing into adulthood and then surpassing the parent).

I withheld a star for a couple of reasons. I think Schake should have provided more context to emphasise how remarkable the "Safe Passage" really was by providing a brief overview of the 16 examples of the Thucydides's Trap instead of the single footnote on page one of her book. Frankly, I would have preferred that to the extended discourse in Chapter 2 of how other writers have gotten their analysis wrong. I also found the repetition in chapters (dateline, synopsis of chapter followed by in depth analysis of the synopsis tiresome after a while). However my own personal quibbles shouldn't keep you from reading this great book.

Finally, I was thrilled to find Schake referencing one of my favourite books "The Rise and Fall of Great Powers" by Paul Kennedy which I have steadfastly refused to remove from my home library. I would definitely recommend it as well as the Graham Allison book mentioned above. The 21st century China versus America transition will be faced by our children and grandchildren and another "Safe Passage" is not likely to be something that historians will be writing about. ...more

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Jan 13, 2019 Hunter Marston rated it really liked it

Excellent book. I learned so much from Kori's overview of this critical passage in history. She is a very talented writer - concise, eloquent, clear, and descriptive all at once. A few takeaways:

1. Interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine was broad, nebulous and changing (e.g., Grover Cleveland's administration)
2. American treatment of native Americans a la Manifest Destiny proved it an illiberal democracy at the turn of the 19th century. America became more liberal as its power grew.
3. US threat t ...more

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May 10, 2020 Leo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: our-story

Kori Schake does a great job in highlighting the key moments of hegemonic transition between UK to US. Written to focus on the uniqueness of this peaceful transition it warns against certain actions by the United States in it's relationship with a rising China. ...more

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