Follies of Power: America's Unipolar Fantasy - Hardcover

Calleo, David P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0521767679 ISBN 13: 9780521767675

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2009

Synopsis

The imagination of America's political elites is dominated by a unipolar vision, according to which the world is dominated by the United States. But the real world is increasingly plural, and others instinctively fear and resist the American vision. Chapters 2 and 3 of this book look at the disastrous consequences of the vision at work - in the Middle East and in Europe. Chapters 4, 5, and 6 assess the limits of American power - soft military, economic, and moral. Chapter 7 discusses the problems of order and coexistence in a world that is not unipolar but increasingly plural. It speculates on the possible contributions and likely fate of both "Old America" and "New Europe" as models for organizing the future. America's own constitutional equilibrium, David Calleo argues, increasingly requires friendly balancing from Europe. Both sides of the West must liberate their imaginations from past triumphs to face their responsibilities to the new world and to each other.

About this title

Book Description

The book discusses the dangers of the "unipolar view" of world politics, one in which the United States is overwhelmingly predominant and should act accordingly. The book notes the damage caused by this view in action - as in the Middle East and Europe. It assesses the real strengths and weaknesses of American power - "soft," military, economic, and moral. It contrasts the federal systems of "Old America" and "New Europe" as models for governing today's increasingly plural system. It notes how friendly balancing from Europe is critical for maintaining America's own constitutional equilibrium.

About the Author

David P. Calleo is currently a professor at The Johns Hopkins University. He has previously taught at Brown University and Yale University and was a visiting professor at Columbia. He has also held the position of Consultant to the Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs. His previous books include Rethinking Europe's Future (2001), The Bankrupting of America: How the Federal Deficit Is Impoverishing the Nation (1992), Beyond American Hegemony: The Future of the Western Alliance (1987), The Imperious Economy (1982), The German Problem Reconsidered (1978), America and the World Political Economy (1973), The Atlantic Fantasy (1970), Britain's Future (1968), The American Political System (1968), Coleridge and the Idea of a Modern Nation State (1966), and Europe's Future (1965).

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0521767679
• ISBN 13: 9780521767675
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 188