ABSTRACT

The Post-American World is a misleading title for Zakaria's bestseller. A title that reflected the contents of the book would have read The American World, Mark III. The book actually argues that American primacy has a lot more staying power than much current commentary assumes. And Zakaria contends that, “the rise of the rest” is more likely to revise than overthrow the current US-dominated global order. If the mark I version was the Cold War and mark II was post-Cold War unipolarity, Zakaria sees a coming mark III version in which the United States remains primus inter pares in a world shared with growing not-quite super-powers such as India and China that ultimately buy in to key aspects of the US-fostered global order. Its title notwithstanding, the book is more bullish on US power and the institutional order built around it than most commentators. Indeed, even the CIA's National Intelligence Council is more declinist than Zakaria. In a headline-grabbing report in 2008, the Council forecast “a multipolar future, and therefore dramatic changes in the international system” by 2025. 1