The Fall of the US Empire: Global Fault-Lines and the Shifting Imperial Order

Despite Washington's military supremacy, its economic foundations have been weakening since the Vietnam war – accelerated by the great recession and credit-rating downgrade – and its global authority dented by the quagmires in Iraq and Afghanistan. This book intervenes in the debates surrounding America's status as an empire. It analyses Immanuel Wallerstein and others who argue that the US is in decline, to those who maintain that it remains a robust superpower. By explaining how America's neo-imperial system of governance has been working since WWII, it links the US's domestic and foreign vulnerabilities. The Fall of the US Empire argues that the time has come to understand the US empire not by its power but by its systemic vulnerabilities of financialisation, resource depletion and environmental degradation.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations List of Tables, Graphs and Maps Introduction 1. Global Fault-lines 2. Bretton Woods to the Abyss of Globalisation, 1944-1971 3. The Failure of Financial Statecraft [1], 1971-1991 4. The Failure of Financial Statecraft [2], 1991-2011 5. The Power-Shift to the Global East 6. Resources Depletion and Environmental Degradation Conclusion Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Vassilis K. Fouskas is Professor of International Relations at Richmond University, London and the founding editor of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. He is the author of Cyprus (Pluto, 2009), The Fall of the US Empire (Pluto, 2012) and Zones of Conflict (Pluto, 2003). Bulent Gokay is Professor of International Relations and Head of the School of Politics, International Relations and Philosophy at Keele University. He is the author of The Politics of Caspian Oil (2001), Eastern Europe Since 1970 (2005, 2006), Soviet Eastern Policy and Turkey, 1920-1991 (2006), Politics of Oil: A Survey (2007), and Muslims and Communists in Post-Transition States (with Ben Fowkes, 2011). He is the founder of globalfaultlines.com.

Review :
A major addition to the literature on the decline of US hegemony. Avoids cheap polemics and shows balanced, even prudent, judgement. In addition, it offers a sophisticated survey of grand theories of capitalism including those of Fernand Braudel, Immanuel Wallerstein, Giovanni Arrighi, and Robert Brenner. -- Donald Sassoon, Professor of Comparative European History, Queen Mary University of London It is widely agreed that the current crisis in the capitalist economies is the worst since the 1930s. But in this timely book, Fouskas and Gokay suggest that the financial disarray reflects the beginning of the end of the US Empire and a decisive shift of power to the 'Global East'. Their argument is both stimulating and challenging. -- Mike Newman, Emeritus Professor of Politics and Jean Monnet Professor of European Studies, London Metropolitan University Anyone wanting to understand the origins and deeper significance of the present crisis of confidence in the Western world is well advised to read this thought-provoking study of the global power shift from West to East. The authors display an impressive mastery of the relevant theoretical literature without ignoring the factual details of the current financial and economic crisis. -- Ben Fowkes The debate about 'the decline and fall of the American empire' has raged since the late 1960s, when the US faced both Vietnam and the dollar crisis. This absorbing book makes a remarkable contribution to the current version of this very important debate, while revisiting its previous versions. Whether or not one agrees with the authors, they raise all the relevant questions in what is definitely a most stimulating reading. -- Gilbert Achcar, Professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London Fouskas and Gokay have written a coherent and theoretically informed account of the changing balance of global power. The decline of US hegemony, the rise of China, and the nature of contemporary imperialism are issues of paramount importance for international poltical economy. There is something in this book for all who approach these topics from a radical perspective. -- Professor Costas Lapavitsas, SOAS, University of London The Fall of the US Empire is an ambitious book that interprets the present crises as a consequence of the erosion of US imperial power. The analysis integrates issues of international power relations, financialization and the ecological crisis. It addresses important questions and offers an historically informed alternative to mainstream readings of the crisis. -- Engelbert Stockhammer, Professor of Economics, Kingston University