cover image berpower: The Imperial Temptation of America

berpower: The Imperial Temptation of America

Josef Joffe, . . Norton, $24.95 (271pp) ISBN 978-0-393-06135-2

While not the first or even the thousandth evaluation of America as the world's sole superpower, Joffe's version is more insightful than many and less unflattering. The editor of Germany's Die Zeit and author of The Future of the Great Powers offers an educated European's vantage point on America's role as the first nation in history so powerful that no alliance could challenge it. While American mass culture dominates the world, our universities, scientific advances, medical technology, entrepreneurial vigor and even our immigration policies are the subject of considerable envy, he asserts. Equally universal is anti-Americanism, which the author defines in several perceptive chapters as obsessive stereotyping, demonization of our entire culture and accusations of moral inferiority. Yet as great powers go, the U.S. inspires remarkably little fear, largely because it exhibits no overt interest in acquiring territory, he argues. The worldwide U.S. military presence suppresses half a dozen regional disputes, allowing potential rivals (Russia, Japan, the European Union) to skimp on their defense budgets. Ironically, the author points out, this is a sign they accept U.S. leadership. He concludes by suggesting the U.S. avoid defying international opinion, and that invading Iraq was a mistake for which we are still paying. Still, he argues, if the world requires a policeman, it could do worse than look to America. (June)