Contending with American Excep

For 250 years, the United States of America has been propelled by a sense of its exceptional nature and mission. For the past 80 years, much of the world has been structured around the order Washington built out of the ashes of the Second World War. But for many Americans and observers of America, the second administration of President Donald Trump has been deeply disquieting, with widespread concerns that his presidency will undermine much of what has made America exceptional and successful at home and abroad.

In this Adelphi book, Kori Schake argues that the US truly is exceptional – politically, economically, culturally and in the international order it constructed. She also argues that, while deep-seated American advantages and resilience may still contribute to more benevolent outcomes, we face a serious risk of dramatic disruption to American power and international security.

Kori Schake leads the Foreign and Defense Policy team at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and holds the 2025–26 Kissinger Chair at the Library of Congress John W. Kluge Center. She is the author of The State and the Soldier: A History of Civil–Military Relations in the United States (Polity, 2025) and a number of other books. Before joining the AEI, Dr Schake was the Deputy Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). She has taught at Stanford University, the US Military Academy, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and the University of Maryland. She has had a distinguished career in government, working at the US Department of State, the US Department of Defense and the National Security Council at the White House. Dr Schake has a PhD and MA in government and politics from the University of Maryland, as well as an MPM from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. Her BA in international relations is from Stanford University.