Agonies of Empire : American Power From Clinton to Biden

The defeat of Donald Trump in November 2020 followed by the attack on the US Congress on 6th January 2021 represented a tipping point moment in the history of the American republic. Divided at home and facing a world sceptical of American claims to be the 'indispensable nation' in world politics, it is clear that the next few years will be decisive ones for the United States. 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? In this volume, Michael Cox, a leading scholar of American foreign policy, outlines the ways in which five very different American Presidents - Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump and now Biden - have addressed the complex legacies left them by their predecessors while dealing with the longer-term problems of running an empire under increasing stress. In so doing, he sets out a framework for thinking critically about US foreign policy since the end of the Cold War without ever losing sight of the biggest question of all: can America continue to shape world affairs or is it now facing long-term decline? -- Provided by publisher Front Cover Half-title Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Page Contents About the Author Preface Introduction: The Rise of an Empire Part I. Clinton: Liberal Leviathan 1. From Geopolitics to Geo-Economics? 2. The Wilsonian Moment? Promoting Democracy 3. Failed Crusade? The United States and Post-Communist Russia Part II. Bush Jnr: Empire in an Age of Terror 4. American Power after the Towers 5. Empire, Imperialism and the Bush Doctrine Part III. Obama: Towards a Post-American World? 6. Navigating the Rapids 7. Stresses across the Atlantic 8. Axis of Opposition: China, Russia and the West Part IV. Trump: Turbulence in the Age of Populism 9. Populism, Trump and the Crisis of Globalization 10. Trump’s World: The Legacy Part V. Biden: Is America Back? 11. After the Deluge or Whither the Empire? Notes and References Acknowledgements Index Back Cover Thirty years ago following the collapse of the USSR, the United States had every reason to believe that its dominant position in the international order was assured. What then happened to undermine this confidence and to lead so many writers to conclude the ‘America Century’ was over and that a post-American world beckoned? This book explains how this occurred and explains its deeper causes, but concludes that in spite of all the challenges it faces at home post-Trump - not to mention the rise of China and the re-emergence of Russia - what is called the American empire here still remains the most powerful nation in the international system. Michael Cox outlines the ways in which five American Presidents from Clinton to Biden have addressed their predecessors' legacies while dealing with an empire under increasing stress. He sets out a critical framework for US foreign policy, the US’s relationship with its enemies and rivals, and whether it is now in long term decline.