In coming years, the United States will most likely come to rely on “non-traditional” allies and partners such as India and Brazil to cemenet its regional influence as domestic defense budgets shrink and global economic power becomes more diffuse. So says Eric Edelman, former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy in the Bush administration, who presented a new CSBA report yesterday titled Understanding America’s Contested Primacy (PDF!)--a look at whether or not the United States is facing a period of decline.
His answer? Despite many obvious fiscal challenges like heavy domestic entitlement spending, the global economic downturn, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States is in no real danger of seeing its global primacy slip any time in the near future. Americans have been worrying about decline since the Puritans fretted the decay of the shining city on the hill, Edelman said, adding that concerns over eroding American primacy have come about every decade or so since the end of the Second World War.
Starting with the Soviet acquisition of nuclear weapons and the launch of Sputnik and continuing through the fallout from the Vietnam war, the recessions of the late 70s and 80s, talk of the end of the nation state in the late 90s, all the way to the “declinism” talk of today surrounding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the rise of economic centers in India, China and Brazil, the theme has been the same: decline is right around the corner.
Edelman finds this kind of talk wanting. Besides, if you think things are rough here, he says, you should take a look at the other guys.....
His answer? Despite many obvious fiscal challenges like heavy domestic entitlement spending, the global economic downturn, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States is in no real danger of seeing its global primacy slip any time in the near future. Americans have been worrying about decline since the Puritans fretted the decay of the shining city on the hill, Edelman said, adding that concerns over eroding American primacy have come about every decade or so since the end of the Second World War.
Starting with the Soviet acquisition of nuclear weapons and the launch of Sputnik and continuing through the fallout from the Vietnam war, the recessions of the late 70s and 80s, talk of the end of the nation state in the late 90s, all the way to the “declinism” talk of today surrounding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the rise of economic centers in India, China and Brazil, the theme has been the same: decline is right around the corner.
Edelman finds this kind of talk wanting. Besides, if you think things are rough here, he says, you should take a look at the other guys.....
Americans have been worrying about decline since the Puritans fretted the decay of the shining city on the hill.
Posted by: Medicine | March 02, 2011 at 06:25 AM