The Next American Century: How the U.S. Can Thrive as Other Powers Rise

With a major shift in American foreign policy, the U.S. can step into a new leadership role in the world, argue Hachigian and Sutphen in this lucid and compelling book. Drawing on their experiences working for the National Security Council during the Clinton administration, as well as a variety of studies, public opinion polls and scholarly work, their central thesis rests on the assertion that the United States must pursue “strategic collaboration” with the “pivotal powers”—China, European Union, India, Japan and Russia. In making this recommendation, the book surveys the major threats facing the United States and the pivotal powers, the ideological tensions between the U.S. and these powers, and attitudes within the powers toward America. Unsurprisingly, given their résumés, Hachigian and Sutphen explicitly criticize the Bush administration's record. But their approach to policy is pragmatic—for example, while the authors acknowledge legitimate concerns about engaging with China, they offer convincing evidence against containment as a viable alternative. Synthesizing a vast amount of material while advancing their arguments, the authors have produced a persuasive text. (Jan.)