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The End of America?: A Guide to the New World Disorder
America was the shining city on a hill. It was the country at the forefront of the world democratic order, the global policeman, the might of its military matched only by the depth of its financial reserves. America was the one the world listened to, whether it wanted to or not. So, what happened?
Well, a lot of things. In this searing account, Alan Friedman shows how, from the disastrous Vietnam War to Barack Obama's bungled response to the Arab Spring, American intervention has ceased to be the decisive action it once was. And now, with the rise of China and Russia, coupled with America's prostration of itself following the election of Donald Trump, the decline of its authority is only hastening.
We move now, Friedman argues, into the New World Disorder. In this dangerous and unstable world, the Washington-enforced liberal order is receding, and a new set of alliances and anxieties are in ascendence. What is America's place in this? Which powers are going to emerge as the leaders? Will the European Union count at all? One thing is for the effects of the New World Disorder will challenge our Western values to breaking point.
Well, a lot of things. In this searing account, Alan Friedman shows how, from the disastrous Vietnam War to Barack Obama's bungled response to the Arab Spring, American intervention has ceased to be the decisive action it once was. And now, with the rise of China and Russia, coupled with America's prostration of itself following the election of Donald Trump, the decline of its authority is only hastening.
We move now, Friedman argues, into the New World Disorder. In this dangerous and unstable world, the Washington-enforced liberal order is receding, and a new set of alliances and anxieties are in ascendence. What is America's place in this? Which powers are going to emerge as the leaders? Will the European Union count at all? One thing is for the effects of the New World Disorder will challenge our Western values to breaking point.
270 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 16, 2025
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10 people want to read
About the author
Alan Friedman
44 books16 followersÈ un giornalista esperto di economia e politica, conduttore televisivo e scrittore statunitense. All’inizio della carriera fu un giovanissimo collaboratore dell’amministrazione del presidente Jimmy Carter, poi è stato per lunghi anni corrispondente del «Financial Times», in seguito inviato dell’«International Herald Tribune» e editorialista del «Wall Street Journal». È conduttore e produttore di programmi televisivi in Gran Bretagna, Stati Uniti e Italia, dove ha lavorato per testate come RAI, Sky Tg24 e La7. Celebri i suoi scoop giornalistici e i numerosi riconoscimenti (è stato insignito per quattro volte del British Press Award, e del Premio Pannunzio nel 2014). Tra i suoi libri: Tutto in famiglia, La madre di tutti gli affari, Il bivio, Ammazziamo il Gattopardo (Premio Cesare Pavese), My Way. Berlusconi si racconta a Friedman (i cui diritti sono stati venduti in 30 Paesi). Il suo documentario su Berlusconi è stato distribuito da Netflix in 190 Paesi. In Italia è editorialista per «Il Corriere della Sera». Per saperne di più: www.alanfriedman.it
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May 31, 2025
Grand thesis tomes are a fascinating sub-section of books. Whilst it isn’t a tome, The End of America: A Guide to the New World Disorder by Alan Friedman attempts to provide a grand thesis. His argument is bold; the USA is a declining power and will collapse as the hegemon. The scope of this thesis spans from the founding of the US to the modern era. As he examines the entirety of American history, Alan Friedman outlines the imperialistic tendencies present in the United States. Whilst offering an enticing thesis, The End of America is problematic in some of its ideas and the evidence that it puts forward.
From the start, Alan Friedman does not hold back in his evaluation of American history. Americans, especially white Americans, hold a rosy-tinted view of US history. Yet, as Friedman points out, American history from the outset was an imperialistic venture of conquest. The Native American land removal amounted to ethnic cleansing. The US held millions of slaves up until the 1860s, when they were freed after the Civil War. There were also the imperialistic expansions of the Philippines, Cuba and Hawaii. Friedman describes the annexation of Hawaii as the Queen of Hawaii being held “at gunpoint”. Rather than expanding peacefully, as argued by Friedman has always been an expansionist power.
In the early twentieth century, The End of America focuses on the rise of Fascism in Europe and the failure of Wilsonian politics as an issue that the USA faced. As observed by Friedman, Roosevelt did try to get the USA out of the Great Depression but ignored the abuses of Nazi Germany by not taking in refugees. Roosevelt had a difficult time attempting to convince Americans to support a war with Nazi Germany. However, the US did enter the war. The End of America focuses most on the international relations alignments that came out of the Second World War rather than focusing on the Second World War itself. It was interesting in the various conferences in which the world was carved up into spheres of influence that led to the Cold War. The book dedicates an entire chapter looking at the early Cold War, plus the American strategies and problems that it found with itself in the early Cold War.
The US between 1960 and 1990 is looked at as going from decline to re-exerted strength under Ronald Reagan. The failure of Vietnam is given a large amount of coverage, and how the US failed where the French failed to contain Communism. I get the feeling that the book failed to cover one aspect of American imperialism,m namely its use of proxies. The subterfuge and covert operations of the US are given only a few pages, and yet arguably the greatest power of imperialism that the US managed to achieve throughout the Cold War was the number of coups that it carried out or supported on foreign governments. The success of Ronald Reagan in revitalising American power is looked at and identified as one of the pivotal factors in ending the Cold War. His hawkish stance on the USSR, calling it an “evil empire” and launching a weapon rearmament programme, ultimately bankrupted the Soviet Union. This allowed the US to win the Cold War. The US then launched Operation Desert Storm to defend Kuwait from Iraq. The End of America looks briefly at the economic effects of the end of the Cold War, namely the dominance of Neo-liberalism and the globalisation of the world economy.
Alan Friedman then identifies the cause of the decline of American power. Both George W. Bush Jr and Barack Obama are identified as the culprits of how American power began to unravel. George Bush started the Iraq War and Afghanistan War, which ultimately cost America $2 trillion. The statistic on the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has no citations. Ultimately, Iraq and Afghanistan undermined US power abroad. Again, I think one of the considerations that was overlooked by Alan Friedman is not how Iraq just impacted the US abroad, but how it impacted the US at home. Namely, Iraq completely undermined the ideology of Neo-Conservatism, and it made the US politics vulnerable to populism from the Right. I think that Obama’s failures in the Arab Spring is also overemphasised when the Arab Spring was not some kind of strategic failure of the US. Obama’s failures are probably more in Ukraine, where the failure to deter Russia ultimately led to the Russian invasion.
The rise of Trumpism is correctly identified as the real threat to US hegemony. The incompetence and the autocratic tendencies of Trump led to the undermining of the liberal order that the US has helped to create. The identified outcomes of Trumpism would be a Russia threatening democracy, the rise of China and the rise of the global south that would avoid being aligned to either side of this rivalry. The decline of the USA is given an entire chapter of analysis. The USA is seen as divided, with its populace ravaged by conspiracy theories and false information, a country teetering on the edge. The authoritarianism of Trump is welcomed by his base, who are seen as an angry group of voters. Then there is the other side of the US, of people who think that Trump is a criminal. Given the divided nature of the USA, the book identifies this as a catalyst for the unravelling of the liberal order of nations, with the authoritarian USA, rather than China or Russia, that is ending the liberal order. The book ends with a new global disorder with China and Russia threatening the world as the US further declines.
The thesis of the book I broadly agree with. Unlike many pundits and analysts, Friedman can identify the causes of American decline. Unlike other thinkers, Friedman believes that the decline of the US is a permanent fixture on the world stage and cannot be changed now. I broadly agree. I also think the book is mostly an enjoyable and informative read. It doesn’t have the density of more academic books, which makes it easier to read. Still, despite the positive points made by the book, there are some problems that I have with the book that limit my score for the book.
For starters, the book cites various sources that I would not value for their historical analysis. For example, the book cites Ray Dalio’s observations of empire cycles to say that the eclipse of the USA by China is inevitable. Ray Dalio’s theory is pseudohistory that is laughable in its analysis of how empires are eclipsed by other empires. This is because the majority of empires looked at were not undisputed global hegemons but powerful empires in an anarchic world order. Ray Dalio is not a historian; he is a hedge fund manager. I also felt that the book seems to be overly impressed by American power and underestimates European power. The End of America claims that the EU is dependent on US power to halt the Russians. Given the European aid to Ukraine and the rearmament of European powers, I think this is overblown. Europe should’ve rearmed earlier, but I don’t think they are on some path to being annexed by Russia. If anything, Ukraine has shown how weak Russia actually is. I also think his belief that democracy hangs in the balance globally is badly articulated. Friedman implies that the collapsing liberal order and an all-powerful China mean that democracy will decline. But the collapse of democracy is not an inevitable outcome of the rise of China. Democracy is under pressure, but a lot of that comes from domestic issues, not from the influence of tyrants. Finally, the book fails at insight in parts of the book, looking at specific events rather than looking at the overall strategic balance of power.
The book is an interesting history of American imperialism and definitely a captivating read. Three stars
From the start, Alan Friedman does not hold back in his evaluation of American history. Americans, especially white Americans, hold a rosy-tinted view of US history. Yet, as Friedman points out, American history from the outset was an imperialistic venture of conquest. The Native American land removal amounted to ethnic cleansing. The US held millions of slaves up until the 1860s, when they were freed after the Civil War. There were also the imperialistic expansions of the Philippines, Cuba and Hawaii. Friedman describes the annexation of Hawaii as the Queen of Hawaii being held “at gunpoint”. Rather than expanding peacefully, as argued by Friedman has always been an expansionist power.
In the early twentieth century, The End of America focuses on the rise of Fascism in Europe and the failure of Wilsonian politics as an issue that the USA faced. As observed by Friedman, Roosevelt did try to get the USA out of the Great Depression but ignored the abuses of Nazi Germany by not taking in refugees. Roosevelt had a difficult time attempting to convince Americans to support a war with Nazi Germany. However, the US did enter the war. The End of America focuses most on the international relations alignments that came out of the Second World War rather than focusing on the Second World War itself. It was interesting in the various conferences in which the world was carved up into spheres of influence that led to the Cold War. The book dedicates an entire chapter looking at the early Cold War, plus the American strategies and problems that it found with itself in the early Cold War.
The US between 1960 and 1990 is looked at as going from decline to re-exerted strength under Ronald Reagan. The failure of Vietnam is given a large amount of coverage, and how the US failed where the French failed to contain Communism. I get the feeling that the book failed to cover one aspect of American imperialism,m namely its use of proxies. The subterfuge and covert operations of the US are given only a few pages, and yet arguably the greatest power of imperialism that the US managed to achieve throughout the Cold War was the number of coups that it carried out or supported on foreign governments. The success of Ronald Reagan in revitalising American power is looked at and identified as one of the pivotal factors in ending the Cold War. His hawkish stance on the USSR, calling it an “evil empire” and launching a weapon rearmament programme, ultimately bankrupted the Soviet Union. This allowed the US to win the Cold War. The US then launched Operation Desert Storm to defend Kuwait from Iraq. The End of America looks briefly at the economic effects of the end of the Cold War, namely the dominance of Neo-liberalism and the globalisation of the world economy.
Alan Friedman then identifies the cause of the decline of American power. Both George W. Bush Jr and Barack Obama are identified as the culprits of how American power began to unravel. George Bush started the Iraq War and Afghanistan War, which ultimately cost America $2 trillion. The statistic on the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars has no citations. Ultimately, Iraq and Afghanistan undermined US power abroad. Again, I think one of the considerations that was overlooked by Alan Friedman is not how Iraq just impacted the US abroad, but how it impacted the US at home. Namely, Iraq completely undermined the ideology of Neo-Conservatism, and it made the US politics vulnerable to populism from the Right. I think that Obama’s failures in the Arab Spring is also overemphasised when the Arab Spring was not some kind of strategic failure of the US. Obama’s failures are probably more in Ukraine, where the failure to deter Russia ultimately led to the Russian invasion.
The rise of Trumpism is correctly identified as the real threat to US hegemony. The incompetence and the autocratic tendencies of Trump led to the undermining of the liberal order that the US has helped to create. The identified outcomes of Trumpism would be a Russia threatening democracy, the rise of China and the rise of the global south that would avoid being aligned to either side of this rivalry. The decline of the USA is given an entire chapter of analysis. The USA is seen as divided, with its populace ravaged by conspiracy theories and false information, a country teetering on the edge. The authoritarianism of Trump is welcomed by his base, who are seen as an angry group of voters. Then there is the other side of the US, of people who think that Trump is a criminal. Given the divided nature of the USA, the book identifies this as a catalyst for the unravelling of the liberal order of nations, with the authoritarian USA, rather than China or Russia, that is ending the liberal order. The book ends with a new global disorder with China and Russia threatening the world as the US further declines.
The thesis of the book I broadly agree with. Unlike many pundits and analysts, Friedman can identify the causes of American decline. Unlike other thinkers, Friedman believes that the decline of the US is a permanent fixture on the world stage and cannot be changed now. I broadly agree. I also think the book is mostly an enjoyable and informative read. It doesn’t have the density of more academic books, which makes it easier to read. Still, despite the positive points made by the book, there are some problems that I have with the book that limit my score for the book.
For starters, the book cites various sources that I would not value for their historical analysis. For example, the book cites Ray Dalio’s observations of empire cycles to say that the eclipse of the USA by China is inevitable. Ray Dalio’s theory is pseudohistory that is laughable in its analysis of how empires are eclipsed by other empires. This is because the majority of empires looked at were not undisputed global hegemons but powerful empires in an anarchic world order. Ray Dalio is not a historian; he is a hedge fund manager. I also felt that the book seems to be overly impressed by American power and underestimates European power. The End of America claims that the EU is dependent on US power to halt the Russians. Given the European aid to Ukraine and the rearmament of European powers, I think this is overblown. Europe should’ve rearmed earlier, but I don’t think they are on some path to being annexed by Russia. If anything, Ukraine has shown how weak Russia actually is. I also think his belief that democracy hangs in the balance globally is badly articulated. Friedman implies that the collapsing liberal order and an all-powerful China mean that democracy will decline. But the collapse of democracy is not an inevitable outcome of the rise of China. Democracy is under pressure, but a lot of that comes from domestic issues, not from the influence of tyrants. Finally, the book fails at insight in parts of the book, looking at specific events rather than looking at the overall strategic balance of power.
The book is an interesting history of American imperialism and definitely a captivating read. Three stars
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