The decline and split of the west?

Another day, another online article. The topic of my latest Newsweek column is whether the West — i.e., American and Europe — can still act as the global policy leader. I’m not optimistic: America and Europe face political, economic and demographic challenges to their longstanding primacy. This is a delicate moment for a power transition, ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Another day, another online article. The topic of my latest Newsweek column is whether the West -- i.e., American and Europe -- can still act as the global policy leader. I'm not optimistic: America and Europe face political, economic and demographic challenges to their longstanding primacy. This is a delicate moment for a power transition, given the host of emerging global threats: global warming, nuclear proliferation, macroeconomic imbalances, terrorism, the need to reform global governance and so on. The question is, can the United States and the European Union continue to exercise leadership on these issues? The answer, at best, is, "not for long." Go check it out -- tt was partly, but not completely based on what I observed at the Brussels Forum. One link that didn't get embedded in the Newsweek story but is worth checking out: Constanze Stelzenm?ller's GMF briefing paper, "Transatlantic Power Failures."

Another day, another online article. The topic of my latest Newsweek column is whether the West — i.e., American and Europe — can still act as the global policy leader. I’m not optimistic:

America and Europe face political, economic and demographic challenges to their longstanding primacy. This is a delicate moment for a power transition, given the host of emerging global threats: global warming, nuclear proliferation, macroeconomic imbalances, terrorism, the need to reform global governance and so on. The question is, can the United States and the European Union continue to exercise leadership on these issues? The answer, at best, is, “not for long.”

Go check it out — tt was partly, but not completely based on what I observed at the Brussels Forum. One link that didn’t get embedded in the Newsweek story but is worth checking out: Constanze Stelzenm?ller’s GMF briefing paper, “Transatlantic Power Failures.”

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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