Primacy and Its Discontents

February 2009
6 x 9, 400 pp.
$27.00/£19.95 (PAPER)
Short

ISBN-10:
0-262-52455-4
ISBN-13:
978-0-262-52455-1

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Primacy and Its Discontents
American Power and International Stability
Edited by Michael E. Brown, Owen R. Coté Jr., Sean M. Lynn-Jones and Steven E. Miller
Foreword by Graham Allison

Table of Contents and Sample Chapters

The unprecedented military, economic, and political power of the United States has led some observers to declare that we live in a unipolar world in which America enjoys primacy or even hegemony. At the same time public opinion polls abroad reveal high levels of anti-Americanism, and many foreign governments criticize U.S. policies. Primacy and Its Discontents explores the sources of American primacy, including the uses of U.S. military power, and the likely duration of unipolarity. It offers theoretical arguments for why the rest of the world will—or will not—align against the United States. Several chapters argue that the United States is not immune to the long-standing tendency of states to balance against power, while others contend that wise U.S. policies, the growing role of international institutions, and the spread of liberal democracy can limit anti-American balancing. The final chapters debate whether countries are already engaging in "soft balancing" against the United States. The contributors offer alternative prescriptions for U.S. foreign policy, ranging from vigorous efforts to maintain American primacy to acceptance of a multipolar world of several great powers.

Contributors: Gerard Alexander, Stephen Brooks, John G. Ikenberry, Christopher Layne, Keir Lieber, John Owen IV, Robert Pape, T. V. Paul, Barry Posen, Kenneth Waltz, William Wohlforth

About the Editors

Michael E. Brown is Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Owen R. Coté Jr. is Associate Director of the Security Studies Program at MIT.

Sean M. Lynn-Jones is a Belfer Center researcher at Harvard University and Editor of International Security, the International Security Program's quarterly journal.

Steven E. Miller is Editor-in-chief of International Security and Director of the International Security Program of BCSIA.

"U.S. primacy remains of 'prime' importance to the current and future course of international politics. These superb ten essays capture the sources of, disputes about, and reactions to U.S. primacy. An excellent source for courses in international relations and American foreign policy."
—Robert Art, Christian A. Herter Professor of International Relations, Brandeis University

"The United States is by a wide margin the most powerful state in the world today. Primacy and Its Discontents is an astonishing, state-of-the-art collection of articles about this profound change in the structure of international politics and its implications for the rest of the world. The authors’ discussions of the sources, durability, and management of American primacy and their debate over whether and how other states can balance against U.S. power crackle with energy and insights that inform both the academic and policy communities."
—Randall Schweller, Professor of Political Science at The Ohio State University and author of Unanswered Threats: Political Constraints on the Balance of Power

"For centuries, the balance of power has been the central precept of international politics, so what happens when one country's overwhelming primacy makes restraining alliances seem obsolete? This collection of top-quality essays by premier scholars offers lively debates over alternatives such as “soft balancing” and multilateral institutional constraints. Primacy and Its Discontents is ideal for getting students thinking in the classroom.”
—Jack Snyder, Robert and Renée Belfer Professor of International Relations, Columbia University; author of Electing to Fight: Why Emerging Democracies Go to War

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