The End of the American Era: U.S. Foreign Policy and the Geopolitics of the Twenty-First Century

by Charles A. Kupchan

Book Overview

The conclusion of the Cold War is commonly presumed to mark the ultimate triumph of liberal democracy and capitalism, bringing to a close the world's last great ideological divide. Privileged by its... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375726594
• ISBN13: 9780375726590
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 391 Pages
• Weight: 0.74 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.2" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

can the era of power politics return?

Many US foreign policy experts have advanced their theses on the great power decline syndrome and more speciically their relevance in the American case. Two factors complicate the issue. Never in history was there any power that had the near absolute supremacy in the economic and miitary spheres as the United States, not even Rome. Charles Kupchan's book 'The end of the American era' is a bold attempt to present the issue in its proper perspective. He sides with the inevitable historical law that great powers must deline until a new power center/s arise either to replace it or to create a sort of cooperative arrangement that makes way for a multipolar world order. He rather opts for enlightened leadership that can truly guide the course of future international relations. His ingenuity lies in the fact that he takes into account some qualitiative changes in international politics that can create regimes suitable for multipolar management of the world order. The seed has long been laid by the American political perception by its founding fathers that precludes American hegemony in any form. That means that a unipolar domination is at variance with the march of democracy on a global scale. the need for other players is a sine-qua-non born of prevalent strategic realities. Gautam Maitra Author of 'Tracing the Eagle's Orbit: Illuminating Insights into Major US Foreign Policies since Independence'.

Great International Relations Book

This is a mandatory reading in order to design the grand strategy of, not only the United States, but any nation that considers itself serious.

It could be a very ugly world

We all know the first, most basic lesson from history - civilizations rise and fall. There are several parameters that will ensure that a powerful nation secures its supremacy for a prolonged period of time - but the key is enlightened leadership. How is it that one of our leading accounting firms whose founder worked to the highest ethical standards fell during the Enron era? How is that just one American President could turn the world's biggest creditor nation into the world's biggest debtor nation in just eight short years. How is it that Japan lost its supremacy in a decade? Surely the answer lies in having enlightened leadership and a system that ensures that a steady succession of enlightened leaders take the helm and are ready in the wings whenever the call arises. Our present system of electing the leader who can blow his own trumpet the loudest has the seeds of self-destruction. My hero in this respect is Lucius Quintius Cincinnatus, the Roman General who tilled the land in retirement until the empire was threatened and he was twice called to the dictatorship of Rome in 458 and 439 BC. In 458 BC he defeated the Aequians in a single day, and after entering Rome in triumph and with large spoils returned to his farm. No blowing his own trumpet and holding onto power by this general!A wise nation does a simple SWOT analysis - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats - and formulates a strategy to ensure that it holds on to power. Kupchan reminds us of Churchill's policy in response to the German threat prior to the First World War when, over much opposition, he brought the British fleet back to defend the homeland. But the British leadership was not so enlightened prior to the Second World War; fortunately Churchill was there waiting in the wings. "The End of the American Era" is primarily about the lessons from history applied to present day America and as you might imagine from the title the author gives a thumbs down on the degree of enlightenment of the American leadership today. The author points out that there are already signs that American preponderance and the stability it breeds are slipping away. American internationalism was at its high-water mark during the last decade but is now on the wane despite that fact that today's problems require a multilateral approach and reliance on international institutions. Terrorism poses a collective threat and requires a collective response. The tragic events of September 2001 served as a wake up call to America, alerting the country that the homeland is no longer inviolable and that the US would be wise to take greater interest in crucial foreign policy issues. The central challenge of the future will be the same as the past - managing relations between contending centers of power. Other concerns will pale in comparison to the dangers that will emerge if America believes that its primacy is here to stay. The US has unparalleled potential to shape what comes next but lacks a grand strategy

The Search for a 'Grand Strategy'

The End of the American Era deals with a crucial and very timely task. It endeavors to find a 'grand strategy' for the United States in an era of power transition in years or decades to come. It is by and large about peaceful change of international order, which is highly going to be shaped by American policies. Kupchan's work is remarkable as it makes an effort to bridge theory, history and present time. It draws attention to power or balance of power in international politics. This realist base, however, is also complemented by liberal notions of strategic restrain and the need for international cooperation. In this sense, Kupchan's analysis is based upon a mixture of realist-liberal framework. Moreover, Kupchan makes several policy recommendations for current American foreign policy. He criticizes unilateralist drives of the Bush administration, which lead to counter-balancing behavior against the United States by major powers in international system. For this reason, the author recommends American foreign policy elites to follow strategic restrain for the sake of peaceful change of international order as well as the on behalf of American interests. This book is a well-written and timely one on American foreign policy and it is highly recommended for students of international relations and American foreign policy. Alike, this book is recommended for the informed public. No doubt, Kupchan's work seems to remain as an important key to understand the potential implications of the current Iraqi crisis on the relations between the United States and other major powers.

A brilliant perspective on America's role in the world

Everyone interested in world affairs should read Mr. Kupchan's brilliant analysis of America's future challenges to its position and role in the world.One thing should be clarified based on comments/reviews I have heard or read about this book: in my opinion it is not about what country or set of countries will replace the United States as the only world superpower, it is about how the U.S. should accompany and help shape a more stable world as new world powers rise.In response to a previous review:As a European citizen, I believe that the E.U. will be a superpower (but not the only one) once its constitutional foundations have been laid.Contrary to the author of a previous review full of clichés and misunderstandings about the EU, I know that the EU has the economical, technological and human potential to compete on the world stage with the US (and anybody else in the world). However, I do not see how the EU could replace the US as the only superpower: it has neither the will nor the interest to do so.Anyway, in 50 years the US will probably have less to worry about the EU than about China, India or, why not, some kind of new pan-Arabic federation ... depending on how it shapes the world today.