The U.S. is No Longer the World’s Only Superpower

Statecraft involves using all the tools that we have to advance our interests, deter threats, and defend the country.

In 2006 , I wrote a book about statecraft to explain what I felt was missing from the foreign policy of George W. Bush .

Today , the United States is no longer a unipolar uber-power and this shift has dramatic implications for those inside, and outside, of our borders.

David Rothkopf : In a world of challengers on the outside and questioning on the inside, we no longer have the luxury of practicing statecraft badly.

For our first century , the American sense of exceptionalism justified not being sullied by others, not being tied down by alliances, and not having our freedom of action limited.

He says Republican and Democratic presidents alike have often adopted the wrong objectives.

The lesson is to think carefully about our stakes and the feasibility of the objectives we adopt.

The art of statecraft is adopting the right objective and maximizing all our tools to get others to join with us in achieving it.

If President Trump wants to “win,” he will have to make sure it does, writes Julian Zelizer .

He says the Trump Administration will need to frame the issue, explain the danger of what Iran is doing and mobilize the world to isolate the Iranians .