American Power: Crisis or Renewal?

Abstract

Perceptions of American international decline are not new. This article considers the current debate over US decline in historical context, noting that current forecasts of decline are less apocalyptic than those of the later Cold War period. The foreign policy legacy of George W. Bush is assessed. Perceptions of domestic US political paralysis are discussed, along with the need for the Obama administration to move clearly in the direction of global retrenchment.