Note: This is an encore edition of our program. This episode first aired in December 2019.
In 1992, the United States stood at the pinnacle of world power and Americans were confident that a new era of peace and prosperity was at hand. 25 years later, those hopes have been dashed. Relations with Russia and China have soured, the European Union is wobbling, nationalism and populism are on the rise, and the United States is stuck in costly and seemingly endless wars that have squandered trillions of dollars and undermined its influence around the world. And it’s only getting worse.
In his newest book, The Hell of Good Intentions: America's Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy, author Stephen M. Walt makes the case for an alternative policy abroad: focus less on regime change and nation building and more on fixing problems here at home.
Stephen M. Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at Harvard University. He is the author of The Origins of Alliances; Revolution and War; and Taming American Power: The Global Response to U.S. Primacy. He writes frequently for Foreign Policy.