The Strategic Advantages of American Power

Abstract

Strategic Advantage: Challengers, Competitors, and Threats to America's Future. By Bruce Berkowitz. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2008. 304 pp., $26.95 (ISBN-13: 978-1589012226). At the start of a new presidency, many students of international politics consider again the role of the United States in international politics and the possibility of changing that role. Indeed, this is one of the central questions that define this period of international politics. The essence of the debate is captured by two issues. First, can the United States continue to be the dominant state in international politics; and, second, should it continue to be so. Bruce Berkowitz addresses these questions in this impressive study. He makes a significant contribution to the growing foreign and defense policy literatures that address the causes of American hegemony and the myriad of topics associated with its continuation or demise (Kupchan 2003; Bacevich 2005; Layne and Thayer 2007; Murphy 2007). Berkowitz may be categorized as a thoughtful and cautious proponent of American preponderance and as an insightful student of the mechanics of its propagation. Berkowitz's central arguments are that the United States must labor hard to maintain its dominant position in a dynamic and protean international environment where there are considerable risks …