Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World

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Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World
Superpower Three Choices for America's Role in the World.jpg
Author Ian Bremmer
LanguageEnglish
GenrePolitics, international affairs
Publisher Portfolio (Penguin Group)
Publication date
May 2015
Publication placeUnited States
Media typeHardback
Pages226 p. (hardback edition)
ISBN 978-1-59184-747-2

Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World is a 2015 non-fiction book by Eurasia Group president Ian Bremmer that offers an analysis of the foreign policy of the United States since the end of the Cold War, and possible ways forward.

Contents

In Superpower, Bremmer argues that ordinary Americans too often base their foreign policy choices on allegiance or opposition to the party in power. He, therefore, outlines three options for readers to consider what sort of country America should be and how it should use its superpower status, in order to strengthen the nation's commitment to a more coherent strategy in the world: [1]

According to Bremmer, a "superpower" is a country that can exert enough military, political, and economic power to persuade nations in every region of the world to take important actions they wouldn't otherwise take. [2]

Quotes by the author

Some say the time has come for the United States to mind its own business, let other countries solve their own problems, and focus instead on rebuilding America's strength from within. Others insist that Washington can and should pursue an ambitious foreign policy, but one designed solely to make America more secure and more prosperous, not to foist our political and economic values on others. Still others say the world needs leadership and that only America can provide it.

America will remain the world's only superpower for the foreseeable future. But what sort of superpower should it be? What role should America play in the world? What role do you want America to play?

The incoherence in American foreign policy has been growing for twenty-five years. What are we going to do about it?

Reviews

Newsweek called Bremmer's book, "a bombshell: and in the context of the 2016 presidential debate, a challenge to all the candidates to say something sensible about how they would change U.S. policy to suit the changed realities of the world. The Telegraph wrote, "one of the sharpest attempts to open the U.S. foreign policy debate has come from Ian Bremmer, the Eurasia Group president and foreign policy guru who coined the phrase 'G-Zero world' to describe the new era of global volatility. Bremmer maps out three distinct paths for the United States and asks America's politicians and electorate to choose between them." [2]

Related Research Articles

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Superpower describes a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale. This is done through the combined means of economic, military, technological, political, and cultural strength as well as diplomatic and soft power influence. Traditionally, superpowers are preeminent among the great powers. While a great power state is capable of exerting its influence globally, superpowers are states so influential that no significant action can be taken by the global community without first considering the positions of the superpowers on the issue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great power</span> Nation that has great political, social, and economic influence on a global scale

A great power is a sovereign state that is recognized as having the ability and expertise to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength, as well as diplomatic and soft power influence, which may cause middle or small powers to consider the great powers' opinions before taking actions of their own. International relations theorists have posited that great power status can be characterized into power capabilities, spatial aspects, and status dimensions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middle power</span> Type of state

A middle power is a state that is not a superpower or a great power, but still exerts influence and plays a significant role in international relations. These countries often possess certain capabilities, such as strong economies, advanced technologies, and diplomatic influence, that allow them to have a voice in global affairs. Middle powers are typically seen as bridge-builders between larger powers, using their diplomatic skills to mediate conflicts and promote cooperation on international issues.

The term "new world order" refers to a new period of history evidencing dramatic change in world political thought and the balance of power in international relations. Despite varied interpretations of this term, it is commonly associated with the notion of world governance.

Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests in the long-term. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of military doctrine, force structure and alliances, as well as economic relations, diplomatic behavior, and methods to extract or mobilize resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Century</span> Term for American geopolitical dominance

The American Century is a characterization of the period since the middle of the 20th century as being largely dominated by the United States in political, economic, and cultural terms. It is comparable to the description of the period 1815–1914 as Britain's Imperial Century. The United States' influence grew throughout the 20th century, but became especially dominant after the end of World War II, when only two superpowers remained; the United States and the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the United States remained the world's only superpower, and became the hegemon, or what some have termed a hyperpower.

United States non-interventionism primarily refers to the foreign policy that was eventually applied by the United States between the late 18th century and the first half of the 20th century whereby it sought to avoid alliances with other nations in order to prevent itself from being drawn into wars that were not related to the direct territorial self-defense of the United States. Neutrality and non-interventionism found support among elite and popular opinion in the United States, which varied depending on the international context and the country's interests. At times, the degree and nature of this policy was better known as isolationism, such as the interwar period, while some consider the term isolationism to be a pejorative used to discredit non-interventionist policy.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolfowitz Doctrine</span> U.S. foreign policy doctrine

Wolfowitz Doctrine is an unofficial name given to the initial version of the Defense Planning Guidance for the 1994–1999 fiscal years published by U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz and his deputy Scooter Libby. Not intended for public release, it was leaked to the New York Times on March 7, 1992, and sparked a public controversy about U.S. foreign and defense policy. The document was widely criticized as imperialist, as the document outlined a policy of unilateralism and pre-emptive military action to suppress potential threats from other nations and prevent dictatorships from rising to superpower status.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potential superpower</span> Entity speculated to be or become a superpower

A potential superpower is a sovereign state or other polity that is speculated to be or have the potential to become a superpower; a sovereign state or supranational union that holds a dominant position characterized by the ability to exert influence and project power on a global scale through economic, military, technological, political, and/or cultural means.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Empire of Liberty</span> Foreign policy created by Thomas Jefferson

The Empire of Liberty is a theme developed first by Thomas Jefferson to identify what he considered the responsibility of the United States to spread freedom across the world. Jefferson saw the mission of the U.S. in terms of setting an example, expansion into western North America, and by intervention abroad. Major exponents of the theme have been James Monroe, Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson (Wilsonianism), Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush.

<i>Foundations of Geopolitics</i> 1997 geopolitical book by Aleksandr Dugin

The Foundations of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia is a geopolitical book by Aleksandr Dugin. Its publication in 1997 was well received in Russia; it has had significant influence within the Russian military, police forces, and foreign policy elites, and has been used as a textbook in the Academy of the General Staff of the Russian military. Powerful Russian political figures subsequently took an interest in Dugin, a Russian political analyst who espouses an ultra-nationalist and neo-fascist ideology based on his idea of neo-Eurasianism, who has developed a close relationship with Russia's Academy of the General Staff.

<i>Every Nation for Itself</i>

Every Nation for Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World is a 2012 non-fiction book by Ian Bremmer that explains the growing "G-Zero" power vacuum in international politics as no country or group of countries has the political and economic leverage to drive an international agenda or provide global public goods. The book gives a historical summary of the global political order and American role in world affairs from the post-World War II establishment of the Bretton Woods system up through the present day. It outlines the various tolls that the G-Zero will exact, potential winners and losers in such an environment, and makes predictions as to what kind of political order will succeed the G-Zero.

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The political culture of the United States has been influenced by the various European nations which colonized the Americas from the 15th century onwards. During the colonial era of American history, European settlers began emigrating to Colonial America, influencing the political culture in each region they settled in. These influences continued to play a major role in the politics of the United States after the American Revolution and the establishment of the U.S. as an independent country.

References

  1. Bremmer, Ian. . Time video. 2015.
  2. 1 2 Bremmer, Ian. 2015. Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World. New York: Portfolio/Penguin.