Description
Book SynopsisIs the United States in decline? If so, what are the causes and dimensions of that decline and is it irreversible? Will American decline be accompanied by the rise of a new hegemon? To what extent are that rise and decline merely concurrent processes, determined by forces internal to each polity, or are American decline and the rise of its competitors both manifestations of a single global dynamic? The essays in this volume address those questions by examining the rise of finance in the U.S. and worldwide, the U.S. government's actual industrial strategy, China's failure so far to challenge the dollar's status as the world reserve currency, and the contradictions in American strategic doctrine as the Pentagon responds to failures in recent wars and to China's growing power. Two articles address the restructuring of politics in the U.S since the 1960s to explain governmental paralysis and the simultaneous disorganization and political success of corporate elites. This volume concludes with a comparison of U.S. decline and that of its once superpower rival, the Soviet Union. The contributors to this volume clarify our understanding of the current state and future trajectory of the United States and the effect of decline on its citizens and the world.
Table of ContentsIntroduction: The United States in decline?. Can the U.S. sustain its global position? Dynamism and stagnation in the U.S. institutional model. Cold war and China in the (un)making of the global dollar standard. Capital accumulation and the rise of finance. The flailing hegemon: Managing U.S. military decline. Elite fragmentation and the decline of the United States. From consensus to paralysis in the United States, 1960–201 Convergence-2, or the fate of other superpower. List of Contributors. Senior Editorial Board. Student Editorial Board. Editorial Statement. Series editor’s introduction. The United States in Decline. Political power and social theory. The United States in Decline. Copyright page.
