Hegemonic States have been at the center of International Systems for centuries. They dictate politics, economics, and military policy. But what happens when another state rises to challenge the status quo? Usually, it ends in war, rarely do we see peaceful transitions between hegemonic systems. Today, we examine the transition between Great Britain and the United States which experienced a peaceful transition in the late 19th century and one of the few cases where this occurred. To help explain this unique relationship, we interview Dr. Kori Schake who the director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Before joining AEI, Dr. Schake was the deputy director-general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. She has had a distinguished career in government, working at the US State Department, the US Department of Defense, and the National Security Council at the White House under the Bush Administration. She has also taught at Stanford, West Point, Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, National Defense University, and the University of Maryland. She has been widely published in policy journals and the popular press, including in CNN, Foreign Affairs, Politico, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She is also a contributing writer at The Atlantic and War on the Rocks.  An interesting episode about a critical time in American History and Foreign Policy.