Coping with Geopolitical Decline: The United States in European Perspective (Human Dimensions in Foreign Policy, Military Studies, and Security Studies, 11) (Volume 11) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0228003539 ISBN 13: 9780228003533

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2020

Synopsis

How great powers react to their inevitable decline shapes their own destiny as well as the course of international politics. Leaders can decide to engage with others or isolate themselves; to build alliances or initiate war; to stoke up nationalism or invest in innovation; to focus on economic competition or develop their people's soft power. While some of these coping strategies foster cooperation, others provoke conflict with neighbours.

In Coping with Geopolitical Decline leading political scientists, historians, and sociologists explore the strategies adopted by leaders and domestic elites to prevent, reverse, or deny the decline of their country. Analyzing four European cases (Byzantium, England, France, Russia) before turning to the contemporary debate in the United States, they argue that geopolitics is not fate. Coping strategies depend on the context, which includes cultural representations of decline, the experience of military defeat, and domestic politics. Whether elites choose to modernize their economy, bolster their diplomatic status, or launch preventive war makes a difference in the extent and speed of a country's decline. By the same token, coping strategies affect world order. A well-managed decline allows for a peaceful power transition. Some strategies, however, may preserve the peace at the expense of a country's standing, while others will stave off decline but encourage imperialist adventures or precipitate military conflicts.

As the United States challenges the liberal international order, fights back China's ascendency, and reconsiders its traditional alliances, Coping with Geopolitical Decline analyzes key lessons from Europe's experience and provides comparative insight into the likely dynamics of cooperation and conflict in the twenty-first century.

About this title

About the Author

Frédéric Mérand is professor of political science and director of the Centre for International Studies at Université de Montréal, CÉRIUM.

From the Back Cover

Series editors: Stéphanie A.H. Bélanger and Pierre Jolicoeur

Books in this series illuminate thorny issues in national and international security, analyzing both military and foreign policy. They highlight the human dimensions of war, such as the health and well-being of military members, the factors that influence military cooperation and operational effectiveness, civil-military relations and decisions regarding the use of force, and the challenges of violence and terrorism, as well as human security and conflict resolution. Some authors focus on the ethical, moral, and legal ramifications of ongoing conflicts and wars, while others, through the lens of policy analysis, explore the impact of military and political strife on human rights and the role the public plays in shaping international policy.

Published in collaboration with Queen's University and the Royal Military College of Canada, with the Centre for International and Defence Policy, the Canadian Institute for Military and Veteran Health Research, and the Centre for Security, Armed Forces, and Society, the series plays a pivotal role in reconceptualizing contemporary security challenges - both in the academic realm and for broader publics.

Edition details

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0228003539
• ISBN 13: 9780228003533
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 344
• Editor: Mérand Frédéric