The Post-American World

Bad news sells lots of newspapers, magazines and books and it does wonders for the ratings of television and radio news shows. Because of that, many of us who read or keep up with the news on a regular basis have been brainwashed into believing that the United States is in the midst of a terrible economic and societal decline from which it may never fully recover. In The Post-American World, author Fareed Zakaria offers a more optimistic view of the country's current world status and how and why that status will change in the 21st century. I suspect that the truth is somewhere in between, but Zakaria's book is definitely a persuasive one.

Zakaria's theory is that the perceived decline of America is more to be attributed to the rise of the rest of the world than it is to an actual American decline. He sees the American example as having been a key element in the more-and-more successful globalization of the world that has allowed countries such as China, India, Brazil and Russia to achieve remarkable economic growth and successes of their own. As those countries carve out a bigger piece of the pie for themselves, America's dominance of the global marketplace will, by definition, decrease - not necessarily through any fault of its own.

The Post-American World emphasizes how important it is for the United States to adapt its foreign policy to one that places it in the position of the world's "honest broker," a position that will allow it to exert its influence on the rest of the world without it forever having to play the role of the "world's policeman." Zakaria believes that America's geographical location will help make this possible because so many countries are likely to get along better with the U.S. than they do with their closer neighbors with whom they develop conflicts if the U.S. adopts a philosophy of "consultation, cooperation, and even compromise."

Fareed Zakaria sees "the rise of the rest" as a good thing and as an opportunity for the United States to wield its influence in a way that will benefit not only itself but the rest of the world. He makes the case that what is happening to the global economy has the potential of creating a more peaceful world than the one we have seen in the past and that the United States has a major role to play in the process if it is to be successful.

Some will argue that Zakaria is being overly optimistic, and perhaps they are correct. It remains to be seen what will happen as a result of so many of "the rest" competing for the same limited natural resources and whether or not any resulting conflicts can be peacefully resolved - or if the U.S. is even willing, or able, to adapt itself to the new status predicted by Zakaria. One would like to believe that the author is onto something here, but only time will tell. The Post-American World presents an interesting theory in only 259 well-written pages, helping to make it a must-read for those interested in political and economic theory.

I decided to read this becaise I saw that Barack Obama was reading it and I wanted to see what he has been thinking about. I can see where this will help him if he becomes President, because the author does a good job of explaining and defining the post American world.

The author maintains that the 21st century is not so much about the decline of American influence as it is abot the rise of the third world. China, India, and African nations are becoming more technologically advanced and globalized. Moreover, half of all PHD students in the sciences in the USA are foreign students from overseas.

Fareed Zakaria also suggests that Americans need to continue emphasizing technological development and educational advancement if they want to stay competitive with the world. We also need to realize that not all Muslims are of the radical kind, and that we need to be more wise and discerning.

The author also shows how the nations of the earth have tended to prosper under administrations that have emphasized development, like post Mao Tse Tong China.

This is a good primer on the international landscape and people should read it.

This is the kind of work that makes a body wish President Bush would read books. The author's point is that diplomacy is America's strength, and it should be used first with force held as a last resort, especially in a world where the US is not the only superpower anymore due to the growing influence of countries in the developing world.

'The Rise of the Rest' is what Mr Zakaria uses to refer to the economic and political growth in developing countries, principally (but not limited to) India and China. Globalization and the opening of international trade has generated great improvements in living standards lifting many millions of people out of poverty across the globe. India and China have been most noticeable because of their sheer size, accounting for over a sixth of the human race between them. India's and China's stories are, of course, slightly different. China has a lot of advantages (from their government's point of view) in that they can ride roughshod over the wishes of its people in the interests of achieving economic goals, whereas in democratic countries such as the UK, people have more freedom to object to development that will adversely affect their standard of living or property values. A proposed expansion of Heathrow Airport meets many obstacles in the form of objections from local residents, whereas in China it's possible for the government to just build an entire airport and sweep anyone out of the way who gets in it. India also has similar checks and balances as Western countries in that great public works projects are subject to objection from local people, and so their growth isn't quite at the same breathtaking pace as China's, but it is still impressive nonetheless.

However strong their performance on the economic stage, it will be a long time before China or India reach the same levels of domination as the US has today. Nor do they seem to want to. China certainly has no interest in becoming the world's policeman. Ending centuries of self-imposed isolation, China's main interest for now is in securing its own borders, reining in runaway regions, and protecting its own interests. Similarly, India is more interested in continuing to build its own prosperity than imposing its own democratic values on the rest of the world. The USA is likely to remain the only major power wishing to export its values as well as its goods.

While international political structures are useful, some of them, like the UN Security Council, are hopelessly out of date. Japan and Germany are among the world's biggest economic powers but still don't have permanent seats on the council just because they were on the losing side in the second world war. Nevertheless, the USA remains the power that people go to in search of a diplomatic solution to international disputes, and that is likely to remain the case for quite some time.

Zakaria goes on to discuss the complexities of nuclear proliferation and to make suggestions on how to deal with this and other problems. The Iraq war is touched upon, remarking on how it is sign of America's unchecked power that it was able to launch an unprovoked war on Iraq and dupe other countries into helping it. The author approves of the end result of ousting of Saddam Hussein, but disapproves of the botched post-invasion occupation and the sheer incompetence of it.

The overall tone is non-partisan and contains none of the childish and heated conservative/liberal bombast that pollutes so much of the bookshelves these days. This writer doesn't fall neatly into the liberal/conservative pigeonholes that some commentators seem determined to push everyone into. The facts are there, the bibliography is extensive, and the case is made very well. If only work of this caliber were more widely read.

simple concise, informative, accessible, and ultimately positive view of the United States in an ever growing global economy..

This is a well written overview of world economies. But it reminded me too much of "The World is Flat" book. Also there is not enough new revelations. I could not finish the book, it did not grab my attention.