Read more
The American Century began in 1941 and ended on January 20, 2017. While the United States remains a military giant and is still an economic powerhouse, it no longer dominates the world economy or geopolitics as it once did. The current turn toward nationalism and "America first" isolationism in foreign policy will not make America great. Instead, it represents the abdication of our responsibilities in the face of severe environmental threats, political upheaval, emerging diseases, mass migration, and other global challenges. A New Foreign Policy explores both the danger of the "America first" mindset and the possibilities for a new way forward, proposing concrete steps the United States must take to build a multipolar world that is prosperous, peaceful, fair, and resilient.
List of contents
Preface
Introduction
Part I: U.S. Exceptionalism in a Changing World
1. From Exceptionalism to Globalism
2. Exceptionalism as the Civic Religion
3. The Era of Global Convergence
4. Eurasia on the Rise, America on the Sidelines
5. Russia-U.S. Relations in the Changing World Order
Part II: America’s Wars
6. American Imperialism and “Wars of Choice”
7. Contradictory Promises and a Century of Conflict in the Middle East
8. North Korea and the Doomsday Clock
9. Trump's National Security Strategy
Part III: U.S. Foreign Economic Statecraft
10. The Economic Balance Sheet on “America First”
11. Foreign Policy Populism
12. Economic War with China
13. Will Trump Hand China the Technological Lead?
14. Toward a World Economy of Regions
Part IV: Renewing American Diplomacy
15. From Diplomatic Leader to Rogue Nation
16. The Ethics and Practicalities of Foreign Aid
17. Managing Migration and Immigration
18. Achieving Sustainable Development
19. A New Foreign Policy for American Security and Well-Being
Notes
References
Index
About the author
Jeffrey D. Sachs is University Professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He is also director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and has been advisor to three UN secretaries-general. He is a New York Times bestselling author, and his Columbia University Press books include The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, and Sustainable (2017), and The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020).
Summary
The American Century began in 1941 and ended on January 20, 2017. While the United States remains a military giant and is still an economic powerhouse, it no longer dominates the world economy or geopolitics as it once did. The current turn toward nationalism and “America first” unilateralism in foreign policy will not make America great. Instead, it represents the abdication of our responsibilities in the face of severe environmental threats, political upheaval, mass migration, and other global challenges.
In this incisive and forceful book, Jeffrey D. Sachs provides the blueprint for a new foreign policy that embraces global cooperation, international law, and aspirations for worldwide prosperity—not nationalism and gauzy dreams of past glory. He argues that America’s approach to the world must shift from military might and wars of choice to a commitment to shared objectives of sustainable development. Our pursuit of primacy has embroiled us in unwise and unwinnable wars, and it is time to shift from making war to making peace and time to embrace the opportunities that international cooperation offers. A New Foreign Policy explores both the danger of the “America first” mindset and the possibilities for a new way forward, proposing timely and achievable plans to foster global economic growth, reconfigure the United Nations for the twenty-first century, and build a multipolar world that is prosperous, peaceful, fair, and resilient.
Additional text
A worthwhile read, in which Sachs demonstrates expertise on vastly different policy fields and makes a convincing case that abdicating the toxic intersection of militarism and exceptionalism is key to building a brighter future, both in the U.S. and around the world.
