Is the West in Decline? (Paperback)

Benjamin M. Rowland

ISBN 10: 1498518540 / ISBN 13: 9781498518543

Published by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Lanham, MD, 2017

About this Item

Paperback. Is the West in Decline? is a collection of ten essays by prominent scholars of international relations and current history, many of them associated with the European Studies program of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The essays explore the question of decline from several perspectives: theoretical, historical, counterfactual, and contemporary. Thomas Rows essay uses alternative history to show how an unfallen Habsburg Empire might have evolved into a state system resembling the European Union. Benjamin Rowlands essay on Oswald Spengler considers how the German historians theory of decline could be applied to the West today. Several of the essays are country studies. Not all conclude that countries or state systems are in decline, or that the condition, if present, is irreversible. Writing about Germany, Stephen Szabo notes that only fifteen years ago, this currently robust country could have been seen as a clear exemplar of decline. Dana Allins essay on the U.S. asks whether a course change, including retrenchment and overseas rebalancing, might reverse decline or eliminate it altogether. David Calleos essay, among other things, looks at Americas reserve currency status as a principal sustainer of American exceptionalism, and asks what might happen should the U.S. lose its exorbitant privilege as reserve currency provider to the international system. This book examines decline in Europe and the United States from historical, military, and economic perspectives. Essays on Chinas rise and Russias recent history frame the discussion. Is decline, as Spengler would have it, inevitable and irreversible? This item is printed on demand. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781498518543

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Is the West in Decline? (Paperback)
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, Lanham, MD
• Publication Date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1498518540
• ISBN 13: 9781498518543
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Is the West in Decline? is a collection of ten essays by prominent scholars of international relations and current history, many of them associated with the European Studies program of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. The essays explore the question of decline from several perspectives: theoretical, historical, counterfactual, and contemporary. Thomas Row’s essay uses alternative history to show how an unfallen Habsburg Empire might have evolved into a state system resembling the European Union. Benjamin Rowland’s essay on Oswald Spengler considers how the German historian’s theory of decline could be applied to the West today. Several of the essays are country studies. Not all conclude that countries or state systems are in decline, or that the condition, if present, is irreversible. Writing about Germany, Stephen Szabo notes that only fifteen years ago, this currently robust country could have been seen as a clear exemplar of decline. Dana Allin’s essay on the U.S. asks whether a course change, including retrenchment and overseas rebalancing, might reverse decline or eliminate it altogether. David Calleo’s essay, among other things, looks at America’s reserve currency status as a principal sustainer of American exceptionalism, and asks what might happen should the U.S. lose its “exorbitant privilege” as reserve currency provider to the international system.

About the Author

Mark Gilbert is Professor of History and International Studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), The Johns Hopkins University, USA.