America and the World: Debating the New Shape of International Politics

A comprehensive survey of the key debates that shape U.S. foreign policy today. The end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union ushered in a new era of international politics, one that people have been trying to get a handle on ever since. This collection is a record of the best attempts at that task over the last dozen years. It brings together many powerful and well-stocked mindsfrom Francis Fukuyama and Samuel P. Huntington to Fouad Ajami, Fareed Zakaria, and Robert Kaplan all trying to figure out what forces are driving world events and how Americans should respond. What is more important, ideology, culture, or power? What lies ahead, order or chaos? What is democracy? How strong is the United States, and for what purposes should it use its strength? How vulnerable is it, and what must it do for protection? The authors gathered here address these and many other questions, often directly engaging each others' arguments and educating the rest of us in the process. Originally published in Foreign Affairs and eight other leading journals and magazines, the articles constitute an essential reading list for anyone interested in contemporary international relations. Contributors include Fouad Ajami, Richard K. Betts, Ladan Boroumand & Roya Boroumand, Stephen G. Brooks & William C. Wohlforth, George W. Bush, David Dollar & Aart Kraay, Michael Scott Doran, Francis Fukuyama, Samuel P. Huntington, G. John Ikenberry, Kim Dae Jung, Robert D. Kaplan, Charles A. Kupchan, Dani Rodrik, Stephen M. Walt, Fareed Zakaria