The United States in decline? Its admirers and detractors alike claim the opposite: that America is now in a position of unprecedented global supremacy. But in fact, Immanuel Wallerstein argues, a more nuanced evaluation of recent history reveals that America has been fading as a global power since the end of the Vietnam War, and its response to the terrorist attacks of September 11 looks certain to hasten that decline. In this provocative collection, the visionary originator of world-systems analysis and the most innovative social scientist of his generation turns a practiced analytical eye to the turbulent beginnings of the 21st century. Touching on globalization, Islam, racism, democracy, intellectuals, and the state of the Left, Wallerstein upends conventional wisdom to produce a clear-eyed--and troubling--assessment of the crumbling international order.

This book explores America’s decline as a global power, arguing that the implosion of Pax Americana was initiated by the process of globalization, preceding the collapse of the Soviet Union by nearly a decade. The era of Pax Americana, and with it American hegemony, is conclusively passed, and will not return in current global conditions. There is a stark contrast between the present epoch and the postwar era of American hegemony (1945–1979) in which the United States, at least outside of the Soviet sphere of influence, largely managed the international economy and reigned over international politics and relations. Drawing on both theoretical and empirical evidence, this book shows that the era of globalization unleashed forces—social, political, and economic—which broke down the status quo of American hegemony. Author Cyrus Bina also establishes that since the Iranian Revolution (1979), US involvement throughout the Middle East, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen, and now notably in Ukraine has been motivated by the freefall of American hegemony and an attempt to get it back by direct or indirect military force. Bina utilizes these contexts for wider analysis and critique of a number of theories commonly used to analyze economy, polity, geopolitical, and dynamics of crisis and social change in capitalism. This book will be of great interest to students, academics, and policymakers on subjects of Economics, International Relations, Global Studies, International Political Economy, Political Geography, Sociology, and postwar History.

How do America’s democratic allies perceive and respond to a relative decline in US power and influence and the simultaneous rise of China? Using the case-studies of Europe, the UK, Australia, Canada, Japan and South East Asian countries, this book offers a broad assessment of the perceptions of threat and the strategies used by these allies to cope with the relative decline of America’s hegemonic power, the rise of China and the transforming world order. In answering these central questions, contributors focus on two complementary analytical approaches. The first examines the perceptions of systemic changes by America’s allies: how are US allies framing this issue and what kind of political discourse is emerging with regards to it? The second approach focuses on the concrete foreign policy and defence strategies put forward by these allies. The book explores the extent to which US allies are willing to support US hegemony and considers the democratic allies’ understanding of the international structure, their relations to the United States, and their own aspirations in this changing world order. This book will be of interest to general readers as well as scholars and students of US foreign policy, foreign policy analysis and International Relations.

America wields a combination of military, economic and cultural power that many consider unprecedented. The way America uses this power has repercussions on every major issue of world affairs, including the prospects of regional security, the spread of democratic governance, and the provision of global public goods in economic and environmental domains. This volume explores the questions raised by American power from a variety of perspectives. Is the emphasis laid on military power likely to be self-defeating for the United States in the long run? Is "soft power" or persuasion a more effective way to promote American interests and goals? How is American predominance perceived in Europe, China and the Arab world? Will it last or will other powers coalesce to resist US hegemony? The authors address these and other fundamental questions in rigorous and historically sensitive analyses of this critical juncture in global politics. The book will be of great interest to students and scholars in political science and international relations, as well as all those concerned with and by one of the key topics of our time. Contributors include: Robert Cooper, Michael Cox, Zhiyuan Cui, Abdelwahab El-Affendi, G. John Ikenberry, Robert Kagan, Mary Kaldor, Joseph S. Nye, Thomas Risse.

This book is a comprehensive study of cooperation among the advanced capitalist countries. Can cooperation persist without the dominance of a single power, such as the United States after World War II? To answer this pressing question, Robert Keohane analyzes the institutions, or "international regimes," through which cooperation has taken place in the world political economy and describes the evolution of these regimes as American hegemony has eroded. Refuting the idea that the decline of hegemony makes cooperation impossible, he views international regimes not as weak substitutes for world government but as devices for facilitating decentralized cooperation among egoistic actors. In the preface the author addresses the issue of cooperation after the end of the Soviet empire and with the renewed dominance of the United States, in security matters, as well as recent scholarship on cooperation.

This book analyzes US-Japan relations amidst the changing nature of power and international relations. Chapters explore the relative successes and shortcomings of American liberalism and Japanese Neomercantilism, the bilateral trade duels over finance, high technology, agriculture, and other industries, and the costs and benefits of foreign investment and military spending. The book concludes with suggestions for a systemic and radical overhaul of American policies toward itself, the global economy, and Japan.

What is “soft power”? How can a country acquire and enjoy it? Is it the product of public or private initiatives? How significant is “soft power” in world affairs? The concept of “soft power,” the idea that international success depends not just upon weaponry, force, and military coercion, but also on admiration and respect for a country’s culture and way of life, is winning ever-greater global attention. As China enjoys ever-increasing heft on the global scene, many Chinese officials seek to emulate the past success of the United States in dominating the world, not simply militarily, but in terms of influence and prestige. Most are very conscious that “soft power” can be extremely valuable in terms of supplementing and boosting their country’s military and strategic position, but are often uncertain as to how to deploy the instruments of propaganda and cultural diplomacy most effectively. The essays in this volume, largely written by scholars based in mainland China, represent an extended effort to debate and assess the theoretical concept of “soft power” and just what it means and how it works in practice. The authors focus upon the practical impact and implications of “soft power” in diverse settings and situations in the United States past and present. How, they ask, does “soft power” relate to issues of religion, gender, race, and social equality, at home and abroad? What do American elections and political rhetoric do for American “soft power”? Will China succeed in rivalling the United States in power, whether hard, soft, or smart? And how will “soft power” feature in US-China relations, present and future?

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1987.

This significantly revised, updated and extended second edition of New Directions in US Foreign Policy retains the strongest aspects of its original structure but adds a comprehensive account of the latest theoretical perspectives, the key actors and issues, and new policy directions. Offering a detailed and systematic outline of the field, this text: Explains how international relations theories such as realism, liberalism and constructivism can help us to interpret US foreign policy under President Obama Examines the key influential actors shaping foreign policy, from political parties and think tanks to religious groups and public opinion Explores the most important new policy directions under the Obama administration from the Arab Spring and the rise of China to African policy and multilateralism Supplies succinct presentation of relevant case material, and provides recommendations for further reading and web sources for pursuing future research. Written by a distinguished line-up of contributors actively engaged in original research on the topics covered, and featuring twelve brand new chapters, this text provides a unique platform for rigorous debate over the contentious issues that surround US foreign policy. This wide-ranging text is essential reading for all students and scholars of US foreign policy.

This accessible and wide-ranging book demonstrates the distinctive insights that sociology has to bring to the study of globalization. Taking in the cultural, political and economic dimensions of globalization, the book provides a thorough introduction to key debates and critically evaluates the causes and consequences of a globalizing world. In addition to topics such as America's changing position in the world under President Obama, the growth of China as a global power and anti-globalization movements, Martell brings to the discussion other aspects of world affairs that sociologists have sometimes not focused on so much. In doing so, he underlines the importance of economic motivations and structures, and shows how power, inequality and conflict are major factors in globalization. The book argues that globalization offers many opportunities for greater interaction and participation in societies throughout the world, for instance through the media and migration, but also has dark sides such as war and nuclear proliferation, global poverty, climate change and financial crisis. This book will be an ideal companion to students across the social sciences taking courses that cover globalization, and the sociology of globalization in particular.