Post-American Century

Globalization has been a predominant theme in international relations over the past decades. Linked to the preeminence of the Western world, it has also been seen as an opportunity for other regions to expand economically and politically. However, the globalization narrative has now lost its footing, and the Atlantic World is displaying strong signs of resistance against further integration. In this transitional phase of global order, as the rulebook of the international game is being rewritten, the competition for power and resources is intensifying. This interactive course delves into the concept of the 'Post-American Century' and explores how it has unfolded both domestically and internationally since the beginning of the 21st century. Topics for discussion encompass the relationship between the present and the past, the global dissemination of the American Way, and the components of power in the international arena.

This course consists of class discussions and presentations related to the presented themes. Attendance is mandatory and you must be prepared to complete the assigned readings and to comment critically in class and take part in the group exercised. So, be prepared to talk, ask questions, and exchange ideas about the readings.

Week1- 3. Introduction: What’s going on with the world?

Who governs the globe? Geographies of power.

Trends, tendencies and fads.

Globalisation on the rise? Retreat from globalization?

Exercise: a timeline of the American Empire

Week 4-5: From Revolutionary War to the Empire. Exceptionalism and globalisation.

The Shadows of Empire.

US Global Authority

Liberal world order

Week 6-7 America on the verge? A World Adrift?

How severe are the looming global challenges?

How do states and nonstate actors engage in the world, including focus and type of engagement?

What does the US prioritize for its future?

Round of briefings: global scenarios

Week 8 The question of values

The question of values

Values-based order? We vs. them

Why do they hate us?

Cultural imprint.

Week 9-10 The Empire Strikes Back? Us and its global competitors.

Competition between China and a Western coalition led by the United States.

Is global governance still possible?

Culture is here to stay?

OODA Loop analytical scheme. Round of briefings.

Week. 11-13: Stories Americans Tell Themselves: Creating and Dismantling National Mythologies.

1. Chasing narratives webquest.

2. Scene’s selections: “The Laudest Voice” (2019), “Nomadland”(2020), “Hillbilly Elegy,” (2020), “The Pursuit of Happyness”. (2006), Seven Seconds (2018).

3. Round of briefs: Obesity, student’s loans, wealth inequality, gun violence, political correctness, racial discrimination.

Week 14-15: Synergy, inequality and the markets.

New context for economic development.

Is Unlimited Growth a Thing of the Past?

“The leviathans of globalization” - transnational corporations.The conditions of global leadership – hegemons, followers and technocratic governors.

Obowiązkowa

1. Mc Tague, T. What America’s Great Unwinding Would Mean for the World. The Atlantic, August 22, 2022.

2. Robert 0. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye Jr, Globalization: What's New? What's Not? (And So What?), Foreign Policy, no. 118

(spring 2000): 104–19.

3. Deborah D. Avant, Martha Finnemore and Susan K. Sell, Who Governs the Globe?, Cambridge 2010, pp.1- 31.

Dodatkowa

1. Jonathan Harris, Green Keynesianism: Beyond Standard Growth Paradigms, Triple Crisis,

http://triplecrisis.com/green-keynesianism-beyond-standardgrowth-paradigms/

Globalization has been a predominant theme in international relations over the past decades. Linked to the preeminence of the Western world, it has also been seen as an opportunity for other regions to expand economically and politically. However, the globalization narrative has now lost its footing, and the Atlantic World is displaying strong signs of resistance against further integration. In this transitional phase of global order, as the rulebook of the international game is being rewritten, the competition for power and resources is intensifying. This interactive course delves into the concept of the 'Post-American Century' and explores how it has unfolded both domestically and internationally since the beginning of the 21st century. Topics for discussion encompass the relationship between the present and the past, the global dissemination of the American Way, and the components of power in the international arena.

This course consists of class discussions and presentations related to the presented themes. Attendance is mandatory and you must be prepared to complete the assigned readings and to comment critically in class and take part in the group exercised. So, be prepared to talk, ask questions, and exchange ideas about the readings.

Week1- 3. Introduction: What’s going on with the world?

Who governs the globe? Geographies of power.

Trends, tendencies and fads.

Globalisation on the rise? Retreat from globalization?

Exercise: a timeline of the American Empire

Week 4-5: From Revolutionary War to the Empire. Exceptionalism and globalisation.

The Shadows of Empire.

US Global Authority

Liberal world order

Week 6-7 America on the verge? A World Adrift?

How severe are the looming global challenges?

How do states and nonstate actors engage in the world, including focus and type of engagement?

What does the US prioritize for its future?

Round of briefings: global scenarios

Week 8 The question of values

The question of values

Values-based order? We vs. them

Why do they hate us?

Cultural imprint.

Week 9-10 The Empire Strikes Back? Us and its global competitors.

Competition between China and a Western coalition led by the United States.

Is global governance still possible?

Culture is here to stay?

OODA Loop analytical scheme. Round of briefings.

Week. 11-13: Stories Americans Tell Themselves: Creating and Dismantling National Mythologies.

1. Chasing narratives webquest.

2. Scene’s selections: “The Laudest Voice” (2019), “Nomadland”(2020), “Hillbilly Elegy,” (2020), “The Pursuit of Happyness”. (2006), Seven Seconds (2018).

3. Round of briefs: Obesity, student’s loans, wealth inequality, gun violence, political correctness, racial discrimination.

Week 14-15: Synergy, inequality and the markets.

New context for economic development.

Is Unlimited Growth a Thing of the Past?

“The leviathans of globalization” - transnational corporations.The conditions of global leadership – hegemons, followers and technocratic governors.

Obowiązkowa

1. Mc Tague, T. What America’s Great Unwinding Would Mean for the World. The Atlantic, August 22, 2022.

2. Robert 0. Keohane and Joseph S. Nye Jr, Globalization: What's New? What's Not? (And So What?), Foreign Policy, no. 118

(spring 2000): 104–19.

3. Deborah D. Avant, Martha Finnemore and Susan K. Sell, Who Governs the Globe?, Cambridge 2010, pp.1- 31.

Dodatkowa

1. Jonathan Harris, Green Keynesianism: Beyond Standard Growth Paradigms, Triple Crisis,

http://triplecrisis.com/green-keynesianism-beyond-standardgrowth-paradigms/