ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the decline of the United States after the Iraq War (2003) and the Great Recession (2008) as well as the rise of China and the resurgence of Russia. It describes major foreign policy changes from George H.W. Bush to Donald J. Trump. China’s positioning in the international system is based on the development of a political/economic architecture based on the accumulation of wealth, global influence, and power. Political and military domination will be the result of this process. On the other hand, Russia is taking a more aggressive approach, focusing on retaking areas of the world it once controlled especially given North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and European Union (EU) enlargement. In this environment, one can see fully the beginnings of the multipolar system.
