New Order

David Rothkopf wonders “whether America’s run is up, the American Century is over?” The answer appears to be a definitive yes. If it is not, it will only be due to the inertia of our allies and the ineptitude of our enemies. Empires usually collapse to a combination of internal division and external overreach. These often feed on each other as internal divisions in the central state create political instability which feeds concerns of external clients who worry about the commitment to protection the empire provides as well as opening opportunities for those internal and external foes of the client state to advance their cause.

For much of the American Century we were an unrivaled military and economic power that operated more as a hegemon than an empire. But that hegemony was really built on the use of soft power and the creation of international institutions that provided benefits to its members but also worked to advance American interests and enhance its power. It was through those institutions — the UN, World Bank, IMF, WTO, even, in its own way, NATO, and the like — that the US exported its ideology of liberal democracy, market capitalism, and, to a lesser degree, human rights. These institutions were implicitly and explicitly backed by the economic and military power of the US.

It was an enormously alluring and successful system, especially for those countries struggling to recover economically after World War II and those seeking to throw off the yoke of colonialism and totalitarianism. It was also hugely beneficial for America, initially creating markets for…