The Consequences of the Peace

There are no superpowers left in the post-Cold War world. The collapse of the old order has given way to a world dominated by complex global balances of power. To help America cope with this radically changed environment, James Chace urges a new internationalism that will advance American national interests. Acting as first among equals, the United States he argues, must design new international economic and political institutions for the twenty-first century. In The Consequences...
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There are no superpowers left in the post-Cold War world. The collapse of the old order has given way to a world dominated by complex global balances of power. To help America cope with this radically changed environment, James Chace urges a new internationalism that will advance American national interests. Acting as first among equals, the United States he argues, must design new international economic and political institutions for the twenty-first century.
In The Consequences of the Peace, political analyst James Chace examines each region of the world, from Europe to the Pacific Rim. He presents a compelling critique of American foreign policy at the end of the century, demonstrating how U.S. policies continue to be based on outdated Cold War imperatives. He also explains how our allies, free from the need to ensure their own security, have been able to spend more of their wealth on infrastructure, research and development, education, and other key factors in economic growth. As a result, Japan's productivity has been growing at three times (and Europe's at twice) the U.S. rate--yet we still pour 70 percent of our funds for research and development into military projects, and we spend billions of dollars to defend against a nonexistent foe. Chace forcefully argues that the security system now in existence in Western Europe and the Pacific must be thoroughly revised to ensure a U.S. military presence for radically different ends.
Most important of all, Chace shows that the entire system of international economic institutions established after World War II must be rebuilt. The International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the use of dollars as the world currency--all were established at a time when the U.S. powered the world economy, when America could afford to underwrite economic expansion on a global scale. Now our economy is caught between attracting foreign capital through an often artificially strong dollar or being forced to drive down the value of our currency to make our goods more attractive in Europe and Japan. Chace proposes a series of reforms (based in part on the experience of the European Community), including a new global bank and, eventually, a single global currency. But if the U.S. is to help shape the new international order, it is essential that we restructure our economy and return to solvency.
"The hour is late," Chace writes. "At the end of the twentieth century, there are no more superpowers." We can no longer insist that the world adhere to our blueprint of how to run the economy or impose a pax Americana on global disorder. We can neither hide from the world nor dictate our will--but, if we repair our economic health, we can provide essential leadership in the post-Cold War world. This book provides a powerful argument for what we must do, and how we can do it.