Opinion | US-China war ‘inevitable’? Why it’s time to set Thucydides aside and talk about Pericles

Athens’ Long Walls prompted distrust and eventual war 2,500 years ago. Nato is the most obvious ‘Pericles Wall’ of our times

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Pericles’ fortifications played a decisive role in Athens’ downfall. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:00am, 28 Mar 2025

Much has been said about Thucydides’ trap, but few talk about Pericles’ walls.

Yet, if we look for historical lessons from the Peloponnesian war some 2,500 years ago, the story of the Long Walls is more relevant.

The story of the war between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BC – narrated masterfully by Athenian general and historian Thucydides – was unfamiliar to most modern readers until American scholar Graham Allison coined the term “Thucydides’ trap” to describe the “inevitable” clash between a rising power and the reigning hegemon.

It has quickly become a popular shorthand for the “inevitable war” between the United States and China. Poetic, perhaps, but it is also a stretch to cast the Washington-Beijing rivalry in the mould of the Athens and Sparta struggle.

The two scenarios have very different socio-economic, international, and strategic conditions. Perhaps some like to make the comparison for ideological reasons, seeing it not just as a case of power competition but also as a fight between democratic Athens and oligarchical Sparta. Again, that is a gross oversimplification, but perhaps best left for another column.

To me, the real moral of the story lies in Athens’ Long Walls, built under Pericles, the greatest statesman of the city state. Their construction directly contributed to the tragic clash of the Hellenistic powers and Athens’ eventual demise.