Towards a post-American world?

Can the United States continue to shape world affairs or is it now facing Paul Kennedy’s 1987 ‘long term decline’ prediction?

Members event, Panel Recording
18 March 2022 — 12:00PM TO 1:00PM
Online

Towards a post American world? - highlights

— HIGHLIGHT CLIP: Can the United States continue to shape world affairs or is it now facing Paul Kennedy's 1987 'long term decline' prediction?

More than 30 years since the collapse of the Soviet Union, five American presidents beginning with Clinton and continuing today with Biden have looked for answers to remedy some of the long-term challenges facing US foreign policy.

Ranging from global terrorism and the problems posed by globalization, through to the rise of China and the chaos which now stalks much of the Middle East, for many analysts the Trump ‘moment’ represented the major tipping point moment in the history of the American republic.

Yet as others have been quick to point out, with or without Trump the United States – still by far the most powerful nation on earth – faces innumerable problems both abroad as well at home for which there appear to be no easy answers. 

But how did the US, which was riding high only 30 years ago, arrive at this critical point? And will it lead to the fall of what many would claim has been one of the most successful empires of modern times?

The panel of experts addresses questions including:

  • What has been the main contributing factors in reducing American global influence over the last 30 years?

  • Is America ready for another superpower on the world stage? How is America responding to and countering China’s rise?

  • In what areas does the US retain global supremacy and where has lost its comparative advantage?

  • Does polarization at home make the United States a crippled giant on the world stage?

This event forms part of Chatham House’s work on reinvigorating multilateralism.

The challenges have been serialized by Professor Michael Cox in his new title Agonies of Empire.

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