In his new book, Hanna Samir Kassab examines changes and trends in international politics and the competition between great powers for control of the international system.
He argues that the increase in geopolitical, economic, nationalist, and resource competition between three great powers, the United States, China, and Russia, points to the changing structure of the international system. This competition is a systemic one, focusing more on the rules and norms that defined the system since the end of the Cold War. This American-led unipolar order is translating into a multipolar one. Kassab begins by tracing 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. He describes major foreign policy changes from George H.W. Bush to Donald J. Trump and how the various administrations approached the international system. Russia and China will increase their international influence as the United States pulls back from the international system.
Written using simple jargon, Globalization, Multipolarity and Great Power Competition is equally accessible to academics and casual readers and laypeople interested in international politics.
Author(s): Hanna Samir Kassab
Series: Routledge Advances in International Relations and Global Politics
Publisher: Routledge
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 181
City: New York
Cover
Endorsement
Half Title
Series Information
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
1 Introduction
Research Hypothesis
Theoretical Framework: Structural Realism and Change
Review of Major Concepts: Globalization and Multipolarity
Globalization Literature
Multipolarity
Summary: The Contradiction of Competitive International Politics and Globalization
Chapter Outline
Conclusions
Works Cited
2 Evolution of the International System Since the End of the Cold War
Introduction
Entering Unipolarity: The United States as the World’s Sole Superpower
The Rise of China
Russia After the Soviet Union
Status Quo Reactions to the Rise of Revisionist Powers: Trump’s Foreign Policy
Conclusions
Note
Works Cited
3 Rise of Geopolitical Competition
Understanding Geopolitics and Competing Great Power Grand Strategies in an Evolving International System
Buffer States and Power Vacuums: The Importance of Reducing Fragility
Conclusions
Works Cited
4 Weak and Fragile States in Multipolarity
Introduction
Weak States Defined
The Structure of the International System: Transactions Between Grand Strategies
The Washington Consensus, The Belt and Road, The BUILD Act: Developing Dependencies and Controlling the International System
China’s Economic Grand Strategy: Replacing the United States as Hegemon
Conclusions: The International System Reconceptualized
Note
Works Cited
5 Resource Security and the Changing International System
Multipolarity and Resource Security
Militarizing Supply Chains for Strategic Ends
Conclusions
Works Cited
6 Nationalism and Globalization in Multipolarity: Unraveling of the Global Order
Introduction
Understandings Nationalism and Its Resilience in the Face of Globalization
Globalization as a Product of National Power: A Comparative History
Understanding Nationalism and Prestige in Today’s Multipolar System
The Continuing Relevance of Nationalism and Great Power Exceptionalism
Conclusions: A Nationalism/Globalization Dialectic?
Works Cited
7 Conclusions: The Multipolar Future
Accepting Multipolarity and an Offensive Realist World
Option 1: Exploring the Possibility of War: Power Vacuums and International Instability
Option 2: Exploring the Possibility of Decoupling From China: A New Cold War?
Option 3: Economic Cooperation and Political Governance: Keeping Globalization Alive
Three Options: Summation
Final Words
Notes
Works Cited
Index
