(This is from last April, well before Trump’s wars in Venezuela and Iran. It’s worth rereading.)
In his essay in Foreign Affairs called The Age of American Unilateralism — How a Rogue Superpower Will Remake the Global Order, political scientist Michael Beckley suggests that the Trump administration’s controversial foreign policy moves may signal a permanent shift away from the liberal world order that has characterized the past 80 years or so.
Here are a few of his major points:
The American-led liberal order has outlived its original purpose, growing into a maze of burdens and vulnerabilities. It didn’t fail, but it triumphed over threats that no longer exist: the devastation of World War II and the spread of communism.
Globalization fueled growth but hollowed out American industries and concentrated the gains. Between 2000 and 2020, U.S. industrial output (excluding semiconductors) fell nearly ten percent, and one in three factory jobs disappeared. Nearly all net job growth went to the richest 20 percent of zip codes, leaving much of the country behind.
The social fallout has been staggering: rising disability claims, drug overdoses, and prime-age workers dropping out of the labor force at Great Depression–level numbers. Many wounded communities retain political clout thanks to an electoral system that amplifies rural voices over urban majorities. The result: a hard pivot away from liberal internationalism and toward protectionism and border controls.
77 percent of young Americans are unfit to serve in the military, largely because of obesity, drug use, and lack of education. Trump plans to unveil a $1 trillion defense budget, but rebuilding the U.S. defense industrial base could take years.
(B)y treating global affairs like a transactional hustle, the United States risks tearing down the very system that has kept the peace for generations. Trade wars don’t just raise prices. They unravel alliances and push rivals toward confrontation. That’s how the world fell apart in the 1930s: protectionism, fear, and rising powers with no way to grow but through force.
The goal isn’t just to win a great-power contest. It’s to channel it; to fix what’s broken at home and shape a world that reflects American interests and values. A free world that works—for the United States and for those willing and able to stand with it.
HEADLINES:
Iranian Intelligence Chief Killed in Overnight Attack (NYT)
Israel hits Iranian petrochemical plant in massive gas field as Trump deadline approaches (AP)
Trump Revels in Threats to Commit War Crimes in Iran (NYT)
Inside the mission to recover a downed American airman (CNN)
How the C.I.A. Helped Locate a U.S. Airman Hiding on an Iranian Ridgeline (NYT)
Trump unleashes curse-filled social media rant at Iran after U.S. rescues colonel (NPR)
‘Unhinged madman’: US politicians react to Trump’s expletive-laden threat to Iran (Guardian)
Ahead of his latest Strait of Hormuz deadline, Trump threatens Iran’s energy infrastructure (NBC)
Iran deal possible by Tues., otherwise “I am blowing up everything” (Axios)
Pope Leo delivers commanding message of peace as Trump, aides invoke God for war (WP)
Top general ousted by Pete Hegseth says troops deserve ‘courageous leaders of character’ (Independent)
Hegseth’s firing of a top general is the latest sign of Pentagon turmoil (WP)
Social media has become a freak show (Silver Bulletin)
The Sneaky-Saver Generation (Atlantic)
Surprising links between autism, Alzheimer’s could change how we treat both (WP)
As Trump orders UFO data released, a question hangs: If aliens exist, what would they think of us? (AP)
The Forgotten Female Pilots of World War II (Atlantic)
What the looming sale of CNN means for Trump’s feud with the network (WP)
UConn is chasing championship history. But Michigan is the team that’s historically great (The Athletic)
A ‘post-human’ vision of AI is already causing problems (WP)
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