Fading footprint |
WITH two vast oceans giving it a sense of security against foreign aggressors, the US could understandably be lulled into believing itself to be inviolable. When the Japanese carried out a surprise attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941, the US woke up, fought back, and emerged as one of the victors of World War II. The next challenge to US supremacy came from the Cold War with the Soviet Union, ending in the dissolution of the latter in 1991. Feeling ultra-secure and confident, the US, now the sole superpower, embarked on extending its outreach to every corner of the globe. Some American analysts started projecting liberal democracy and market economies as the only universal organising principle of governance for all countries.
As the new century dawned, two developments shattered this sense of supremacy. First, Al Qaeda attacked America’s iconic buildings in New York and Washington on Sept 11, 2001. Second, China emerged as a global economic powerhouse and a potential military challenge. While 9/11 led America into distant and never-ending wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, China continued its peaceful rise. A multipolar and interconnected world began to shape up. America decided to contain the further rise of China. In 2017, the US National........