The Next American Century: A Traditional Hard Power Problem or a New World Order?

Abstract

There is a general consensus that the new world order gathered steam in response to World War II. Major institutions like the United Nations, NATO, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights all fortified the common belief that economic, social, and political interdependence is unavoidable. This international framework in which both domestic and foreign policies have far-reaching and unclear implications is not well understood. Important debates concerning economic and military intervention in developing countries, the scope and enforceability of human rights, and the role of international governing bodies are far from settled. This raises an important question for the United States: What ought to be the values that define American foreign policy given these highly contentious circumstances? More specifically, should the United States rely primarily on its military strength as leverage? Can the U.S. maintain its superpower status? What might this look like in the future and is this desirable? These are the questions that will guide a discussion between Thomas Visco and Alex Zimmerman.