Just Finished Reading: In the Shadows of the American Century – The Rise and Decline of US Global Power by Alfred W McCoy (FP: 2017) [256pp] 

An interesting way to look at modern US history (post-Civil War) is to see it as an Empire in the mould of the British or ancient Athenian empires – not one simply of conquest and domination but almost accidental (in the sense of not entirely deliberate).  Built through the provocation of wars and interventions from the Spanish-American war to the First and especially Second World Wars, America found itself torn from its preferred isolationist comfort zone and thrust onto the world stage as a player par excellence. It was World War 2 that made the US into a global powerhouse and the ‘arsenal of democracy’ (to say nothing of the world's richest nation by far and – briefly – the world’s only Super-power) but it was the subsequent Cold War that made the United States into an Empire in all but name. With the need to contain and, where required, combat the proxies of the ideological opposing force of Communism wherever they were found across the entire planet's surface (or beyond) the build-up of a truly staggering military force, the construction of numerous military bases around hot spots and the building of alliances for mutual defence developed into an Empire almost by default and, it seemed, almost as an afterthought. But built it was and the post-1945 world was named, without irony, the American Century. 

The previous empire (the world spanning British) that the Americans had now overshadowed had its own century running from 1815 to 1914 – going into slow and then accelerating decline after the exhausting Great War – and it was, at least initially, thought that the pax Americana would both outlast and outshine its predecessor. But the going has been far from easy. The Soviet Union developed nuclear weapons far faster than had been anticipated and the US no longer held the monopoly on world destruction. Other countries followed and the nuclear ‘club’ has been slowly expanding ever since. Although the military might of American forces was certainly not to be trifled with – as seen in Korea – the defeat in Vietnam tarnished their reputation for decades until the lightening victory in the first Gulf War. But, as we know, subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan and Gulf War 2 televised as they were for all the world to see showed beyond doubt the America’s predominance on the field of battle was no longer a given. The American Empire must now co-exist with other rising powers, most especially China, and come to terms with being more of a first amongst equals in a multi-polar world. The question is, naturally, just how long can the US retain its present position. Even with recent setbacks, the Chinese economy is due to overtake the US sooner rather than later. Likewise, the Chinese military strength grows by the day. If those two nations ever came to blows the outcome and the winner is up for debate, and it is far from certain that the US would prevail. We are indeed living through interesting times. 

This was, to be honest, a definite highlight of the year for me. The author most certainly ‘knows his stuff’ and manages to bring together almost a century of geopolitical history into a coherent narrative that is both persuasive and a little frightening. It also throws into perspective, at least for me, the present political turmoil that the US is going through. Looking at it through the lens of an Empire in decline it makes perfect sense. Indeed, its exactly what you might have expected to see as the Roman Empire crumbled long before the barbarians arrived at their gates. A fascinating read and highly recommended for anyone wanting to both understand the history of the US and, just possibly, its future. 

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