Dana Allin is Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Affairs, ISS and Editor Survival.Erik Jones is director of the Bologna Institute for Policy Research, Professor of European Studies at the SAIS Bologna Centre and Contributing Editor, Survival.

Select Guide Rating

• Introduction Idealism Realism Pluralism Stakes Chapter One Power and restraint in American history The conservative anxiety Cycles of ambition Moments of restraint Chapter Two Barack Obama and the limits of superpower Afghanistan America: offshore balancer? Humanitarian war Counter-proliferation Chapter Three Politics, polarisation and American exceptionalism Tea and liberty Contested exceptionalism Fiscal paralysis Money and morals Chapter Four The causes and consequences of austerity The road to ruin Austerity politics Balance and imbalance Power shift? Chapter Five Power, influence and leadership A world without followers When coordination breaks down Frustration and hubris Conclusion Realist Dilemmas The plurality of power The primacy of politics Appendix American power in decline?

Dana Allin is Senior Fellow for US Foreign Policy and Transatlantic Affairs, ISS and Editor Survival.Erik Jones is director of the Bologna Institute for Policy Research, Professor of European Studies at the SAIS Bologna Centre and Contributing Editor, Survival.

Select Guide Rating

• Introduction Idealism Realism Pluralism Stakes Chapter One Power and restraint in American history The conservative anxiety Cycles of ambition Moments of restraint Chapter Two Barack Obama and the limits of superpower Afghanistan America: offshore balancer? Humanitarian war Counter-proliferation Chapter Three Politics, polarisation and American exceptionalism Tea and liberty Contested exceptionalism Fiscal paralysis Money and morals Chapter Four The causes and consequences of austerity The road to ruin Austerity politics Balance and imbalance Power shift? Chapter Five Power, influence and leadership A world without followers When coordination breaks down Frustration and hubris Conclusion Realist Dilemmas The plurality of power The primacy of politics Appendix American power in decline?