The Future of American Primacy

The National Interest's got a series running, mostly by realists (those skeptical of aggressive forward use of U.S. military power, especially of the neoconservative variety).

It's worth a read, in any case.

Here:

The Future of U.S. Primacy: Power to Lead, But No Longer to Command https://t.co/jzHtyDKiud via @TheNatlInterest #Primacy

— Donald Douglas (@AmPowerBlog) August 24, 2016

* Leslie Gelb, "The Future of U.S. Primacy: Power to Lead, But No Longer to Command."

* Geoffrey Wheatcroft, "Is a Rational American Foreign Policy Even Possible?"

* Robert D. Kaplan, "Is Primacy Overrated?"

* Barry Posen, "The High Costs and Limited Benefits of America’s Alliances."

* Barry Gewen, "American Power in an Age of Disorder."

Personally, I'm not worried about the continued preponderance of American power in the international system. I'm worried about American leadership of the system. That's the key theme of Rober Lieber's book, Retreat and its Consequences: American Foreign Policy and the Problem of World Order.

And see Stephen Brooks and William Wohlforth, "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers in the Twenty-First Century: China’s Rise and the Fate of America’s Global Position."