by Robert Kagan
First published 2008
The peaceful world order many expected after the Cold War never materialized. Instead, great powers like the United States, Russia, China, Europe, Japan, India, and Iran compete fiercely for honor and influence. Nation-states grow stronger while ambitious nationalism creates explosive tensions. Though the world remains unipolar, regional conflicts threaten stability as these major powers clash. Communism died, but western liberalism now faces eastern autocracies in Russia and China, bringing ideology back into geopolitics. Radical Islamists wage violent campaigns against modern secular cultures they believe have dominated and corrupted their Islamic territories. Liberal democracies find themselves internally fractured and distracted by both serious and trivial disputes. Kagan argues that grand expectations of international geopolitical convergence were fundamentally mistaken. He challenges liberal democratic nations to decide whether they will actively shape historical events or allow other powers to determine their fate.
Genres: history, international-relations, political-science, non-fiction, 21st-century, current-affairs, academic, american-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: United States, Russia, China, Europe, Japan, India, Iran
Period: Cold War, 21st Century
Audio CD · Blackstone Publishing