The Future of US Global Power Delusions of Decline

by Brown, Stuart S.

• ISBN13: 9781137023155
• ISBN10: 1137023155
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-12-15
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Has the combination of protracted war, explosive indebtedness and mounting income inequality dealt a decisive blow to US global influence and stature? Has the 'rise of the rest' completely upended the distribution of global power? The flood of recent commentary bemoaning the end of American primacy would lead one to think so. Stuart Brown rejects this conventional wisdom, and argues that the US still maintains the composite economic, cultural, political and military underpinnings befitting a predominant global power. The causes and implications of US trade imbalances are too often misdiagnosed while the geopolitical challenge from China is grossly exaggerated. The US continues to lead in global affairs, disproportionately contributing to global peace and stability. In dispelling the major assumptions underlying the case for American decline, Brown paints an alternative picture of an enduring power of unparalleled capability and global impact.

Author Biography

Stuart S. Brown is Professor at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, USA. In addition to prior academic positions at Georgetown University and Smith College, he worked as an economist at the International Monetary Fund and as Chief Economist for Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East at BNP–Paribas and Bank of America. He specializes in macroeconomics and international political economy and has published widely on the economics of transition economies.

Table of Contents

'Recent events have raised grave doubts regarding the condition and fate of America's once-untrammeled hegemonic power. Congress and the White House remain at loggerheads, providing little comfort to America's working classes. Little surprise, then, that confidence in America's hegemonic strength has been torn asunder. Yet Brown asks us to dig deeper. His sophisticated appraisal of American's micro- and macroeconomic foundations suggest the engine of US power remains in good health.' - Sean Clark, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada and Sabrina Hoque, Dalhousie University, Canada

'Supporting his views with a careful attention to facts and figures, Stuart Brown debunks the newest versions of "declinism". He examines US global power in all relevant dimensions and concludes that the era of US hegemony will be more long-lasting than many believe. Like a seasoned country rating analyst, he has examined all the factors affecting the creditworthiness of the US relative to China, Europe, and others. Amid the plethora of recent books on the global political/economic power struggle, this one stands out for its theoretical acumen and empirical comprehensiveness. The range of topics covered is impressive, including global imbalances, comparative productivity, trade relations, nuclear proliferation, government debt burdens, and public opinion on the projection of global power.' - David H. Levey

'Stuart Brown has authored a powerful rebuttal to the "decline" school. To paraphrase Cassius, if American power does decline over the next two decades, "The fault will not be in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.' - Gary Clyde Hufbauer, Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics, USA