By Robert Kagan
Alfred A. Knopf, $21.00, 141 pages
It is without a doubt that the United States has had a major impact on the world since the end of World War II. We helped rebuild Europe and Japan, we countered the threat of the Soviet Union in the Cold War; we founded the United Nations with a mandate to help keep the peace around the world. We built the modern financial system. In The World America Made, Robert Kagan explores how the United States got to this point, and how the country looked before it became a super-power. Kagan argues that the reason we have long-term peace is because the United States is the only dominant power. He also explores what might change if the United States was no longer the dominant force it is today. Would the current economic system still be the same? Would the United Nations still exist, would stability and peace be maintainable?
This book will appease those on the “right” side of American politics, as Kagan is a noted conservative author. His writing style is approachable, but at times, his analysis is a bit weak.
Reviewed by Kevin Winter
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