The World America Made
Feb 2012 · Vintage
3.1star
10 reviewsreport
Ebook
160
Pages
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About this ebook
What would the world look like if America were to reduce its role as a global leader in order to focus all its energies on solving its problems at home? And is America really in decline? Robert Kagan, New York Times best-selling author and one of the country’s most influential strategic thinkers, paints a vivid, alarming picture of what the world might look like if the United States were truly to let its influence wane.
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Although Kagan asserts that much of the current pessimism is misplaced, he warns that if America were indeed to commit “preemptive superpower suicide,” the world would see the return of war among rising nations as they jostle for power; the retreat of democracy around the world as Vladimir Putin’s Russia and authoritarian China acquire more clout; and the weakening of the global free-market economy, which the United States created and has supported for more than sixty years. We’ve seen this before—in the breakdown of the Roman Empire and the collapse of the European order in World War I.
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Potent, incisive, and engaging, The World America Made is a reminder that the American world order is worth preserving, and America dare not decline.
Â
Although Kagan asserts that much of the current pessimism is misplaced, he warns that if America were indeed to commit “preemptive superpower suicide,” the world would see the return of war among rising nations as they jostle for power; the retreat of democracy around the world as Vladimir Putin’s Russia and authoritarian China acquire more clout; and the weakening of the global free-market economy, which the United States created and has supported for more than sixty years. We’ve seen this before—in the breakdown of the Roman Empire and the collapse of the European order in World War I.
Â
Potent, incisive, and engaging, The World America Made is a reminder that the American world order is worth preserving, and America dare not decline.
Ratings and reviews
3.1
10 reviews
Tristan VanDell
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March 18, 2017
I thought the book did a great job laying out America's obligations abroad and made a great case about defense spending, and why these obligations and investments abroad are essential to maintaining the world order that we are in. The author gives an overview of America's role in out today's world in a concise manner, and does not present America as being this exceptional empire beyond where the credit is due. Like Kagan, I agree that the world order that America has inherited from Britain--the liberal economic order--and that with being the leader of that order that the country has a level of responsibility to the rest of the world to maintain that standard. I do not agree with it all but the author makes strong points and gives readers a foundation of understanding of America's role in maintaining a liberal-democratic world. ~Overall: a concise book on America's role in international affairs involving the liberal-economic order. The book is short, so great for low-commitment readers. No chapters was a nice change of pace. If you are looking for a quick overview on America's role in maintaining the liberal order of the world, its history, and outlook for the future, then I would recommend this book.
Ashish Nangia
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November 17, 2015
Incredibly boring. I nearly filed the skin off my teeth, waiting for the author to get to the point. At par with 'Wild Swans' for a mono-country monologue. If the author loves the sound of his voice so much, why not join academia? Rob, this isn't the world America made. It's the world you THINK you have. Do Yoga.
A Google user
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February 28, 2012
Good book
About the author
Robert Kagan is senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a columnist for The Washington Post. He is also the author of The Return of History and the End of Dreams, Dangerous Nation, Of Paradise and Power, and A Twilight Struggle. Kagan served in the U.S. State Department from 1984 to 1988. He lives in Virginia with his wife and two children.
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