This controversial book addresses the world role America has begun to undertake in light of recent terrorist events. The book argues that if America does not respond actively to terrorist threats, no one else will take the initiative.
The American Era makes a provocative argument about America's world role. It sets out the case for a grand strategy that recognizes American preponderance as necessary and desirable for coping with the perils of the post-9/11 world. Firstly, militant Islamic terrorism plus weapons of mass destruction pose a threat and require us to alter the way we think about the preemptive and even preventive use of force. Secondly, the UN and other international bodies are habitually incapable of acting on the most urgent problems. Thirdly, in a decentralized international system other countries will look to the U.S. for leadership as no other country has the ability or the will to do so. Thus, when such values as human rights, liberty and stability cannot be reliably assured by institutions such as the UN and the European Union, active intervention by the U.S. on those issues that matter most becomes a necessity, not something about which to be apologetic.
