US President-elect Donald Trump’s policy agenda, if enacted, will inevitably sow the seeds of a new wave of discontent, protest, and conspiracy theorizing. A similar dynamic took hold in the USSR in the decade leading up to its collapse.
PRINCETON – In 1987, the historian Paul Kennedy published his influential bestseller, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, which dwelled on the theme of imperial overreach and concluded with a look at the Soviet Union and the United States – the two great powers of the time. Within just a few years, the Soviet Union collapsed, opening the door for the US to emerge as the world’s only fully dominant power. Given recent events, however, it may be time to dust off Kennedy’s book and consider its lessons anew.
PRINCETON – In 1987, the historian Paul Kennedy published his influential bestseller, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, which dwelled on the theme of imperial overreach and concluded with a look at the Soviet Union and the United States – the two great powers of the time. Within just a few years, the Soviet Union collapsed, opening the door for the US to emerge as the world’s only fully dominant power. Given recent events, however, it may be time to dust off Kennedy’s book and consider its lessons anew.