The United States' large economic and military advantage over other states will secure its status as the world's most powerful nation, Dartmouth government professor Stephen Brooks said in his Thursday lecture, "America's Place in the World."
Brooks' assertion contradicts popular scholarly theories that predict the decline of U.S. power. Brook framed his argument around the conflicting opinions of other international relations experts, such as Fareed Zakaria, whose work on the U.S. decline appears in the most recent issues of Newsweek and Foreign Affairs. Brooks contradicted Zakaria's assertions, arguing that China and India do not seriously threaten American primacy because America's military and economic advantage over these nations creates a gap that will be difficult to close, as relative power shifts slowly, Brooks said.
"This is a key thing that we've never had in another point history, where one state is way ahead simultaneously in both the military realm and the economic realm," Brooks said. "We should not confuse a state that is rising with a state that is risen. China and India are rising, but they have not risen to become equal with the United States."
Despite the "disastrous" consequences of America's unilateral action in Iraq, Brooks said he believes that the United States will continue to pursue unilateralism, or "go-it-alone" practices. Whether a Democrat or Republican takes office next January is irrelevant, he added.
"The Bush administration did not invent unilateralism," Brooks said. "As long as the United States remains the sole superpower, it will have the ability to act alone and will be tempted to do so."
Brooks stressed that unilateralism does not always deserve its negative connotation.
"When the U.S. initially acts alone, and good results follow, people call this leadership," Brooks said, giving the hypothetical example of the United States eliminating agricultural subsidies that damage developing nations and daring the rest of the world to follow.
The probability that the United States will adopt more isolationist practices is higher than many analysts believe it to be, and will likely increase in the wake of another terrorist attack, Brooks said. Isolationist sentiment among the American public is higher now than it has been at any point in the last 40 years, and anti-globalization sentiment is also rising, according to Brooks.
Brooks' discussion was fueled largely by his research with Dartmouth professor William Wohlforth to be published in their new book, "World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy," which is expected to be released in July.
Brooks emphasized the importance of sharing government-related research outside the classroom.
"Most people [at Dartmouth] are not just typical voters," Brooks said in an interview. "They are, or have the potential to be, in a position to have a significant effect on politics."
The Rockefeller Center and the League of Women Voters of the Upper Valley sponsored Brooks' lecture, held in 3 Rockefeller Center.
