Zakaria (Time magazine editor-at-large and host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS") updates his discussion of the relative decline of American global power in order to take into account the impact of the economic crisis of the late 2000s and other recent developments, which have only accelerated the transition to the "post-American" world and the rise of new powers in Zakaria's estimation. It must be stressed that Zakaria is only predicting a relative decline in power for the United States and that he believes that the United States can maintain a healthy position in the world by more carefully balancing foreign policy priorities, pushing for broad international rules conducive to long-term US interests instead of pushing for narrow and short-term interests, seeking better relations with rising powers instead of seeking to balance against them, encouraging ad hoc multilateral approaches to global problems in lieu of the lost hegemonic order, recognizing the dangers of opponents' asymmetric power in order to avoid getting sucked into traps, and recognizing international legitimacy as a key element of national power. Annotation ©2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Read Less