Superpower: Three Choices for America's Role in the World

by Ian Bremmer

Overview

From the bestselling author of The End of the Free Market, the story of three provocative choices facing the world’s sole superpower.

Global policy expert Ian Bremmer calls for a complete rethink of America’s role in tomorrow’s world. In an increasingly volatile international environment, the question has never been more important. Bremmer explores three choices, each with its own benefits and drawbacks:

“Independent America” argues that it’s time for Washington to declare independence from the responsibility to solve everyone else’s problems. Instead, America should lead by example by investing in America’s enormous untapped potential.

“Moneyball America” acknowledges that we can’t manage every international challenge but asserts that we must defend U.S. interests wherever they’re threatened. It looks beyond phony arguments about American exceptionalism with a clear-eyed assessment of U.S. strengths and limitations.

“Indispensable America” insists that only Washington can promote the values on which global stability increasingly depends in our hyper-connected world. Turning inward would threaten America’s security and prosperity.

Bremmer makes his best pitch for each scenario, offers his own conclusions, and challenges the reader to choose.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698176393
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/19/2015
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	683 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

IAN BREMMER is the president and founder of Eurasia Group, the leading global political risk research and consulting firm. He has published ten books including the national bestsellers The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations, and Every Nation For Itself: Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World. He is an active public speaker, a contributor to the Financial Times and Reuters, and has written hundreds of articles for other leading publications. He lives in New York City.

Read an Excerpt

"I promise to tell you exactly what I believe and why I believe it. But this book is about what you think. Whether you’re an American or the proud citizen of another country, I want to know what role you believe the only superpower should play in our world. If you finish this book with a strong opinion, especially if it’s a bit different from the one you have at this moment, and even if it’s the opposite of mine, this book will have served its purpose."

Table of Contents

Preface xiii

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 Today's World and Tomorrow's 9

Chapter 2 Incoherent America 27

Chapter 3 Independent America 47

Chapter 4 Moneyball America 85

Chapter 5 Indispensable America 127

Chapter 6 Question Mark America 165

Conclusion 193

Acknowledgments 207

Notes 211

Index 225

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Praise for Ian Bremmer's The End of the Free Market:

“A fascinating book.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“[A] well-crafted, thought-provoking book.”
—The New York Times

Editorial Reviews

This brilliant and provocative book is required reading for every presidential candidate in 2016—and everyone who will cast a vote.”
—Nouriel Roubini, chairman of Roubini Global Economics

“Bremmer deals with America’s role in a world in transition with honesty and sincerity. This is a valuable contribution to an important debate from an experienced and insightful leader.”
—Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE

“Superpower is an insightful and original piece of work—drawing on Bremmer’s remarkable understanding of politics, America, and the world. This is a must read for all those concerned with the twenty-first-century geopolitical landscape.”
—Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund

“This book provides a clear and incisive way to think about America’s role in the world. Should it focus on its interests, its values, or its domestic needs? Bremmer offers his own opinions, but more important, he will help you sharpen your own.”
—Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute; bestselling author of Steve Jobs and The Innovators

"Superpower is a creatively organized and critically important book: Bremmer challenges Americans to hvae a difficult but increasingly inescapable conversation about the role they wish their country to play in world affairs, and he objectively gives them the facts and considerations they need to do so intelligently."
—The Times Literary Supplement

From the Publisher