What shapes the relationships among nations? How has America influenced the international order? Is American power and influence growing or declining? This seminar will address the nature of the world order and America’s role in shaping it.

Image courtesy National Museum of American History

Robert Kagan on the U.S. and the liberal world order

Faculty

Robert Kagan

Robert Kagan is a senior fellow with the Project on International Order and Strategy in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. He is a contributing columnist at The Washington Post. His most recent book is The New York Times bestseller, The World America Made.

Preview the Syllabus by Week/Session

Readings:

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Is there such a thing as “world order”? If so, what is it? If not, how should we think about the relations among states and people?
  2. Is there a “world order” today? How should we characterize the present international situation?

Readings:

 

Discussion Questions:

  1. Has the United States shaped or reshaped the international order over the past two centuries? And if so, how?
  2. Is the United States a source of order or disorder?
  3. Are American goals and ambitions in the world different today than in the past?

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