An Overwhelmed America Withdraws Itself

America is indispensable and at the same time overwhelmed: because of itself, its geopolitical rivals, and the weakness of the Europeans. They will get the America they deserve.

The United States, the strongest military power in the world, is still the only superpower. To this end, it possesses everything that Harvard Professor Joseph Nye calls “soft power.” This includes many things — from many of the rules and structures of financial markets to cyberspace and cyberwarfare, from music and fashion to film and television, and all other modern forms of play. But the “sole surviving superpower” suffers from self-doubt — within reason.

After its triumph in the world turn of 1989 to 1990, it did not escape the fate that sooner or later befalls all empires — even the liberal ones — which is inscribed in the chronicles of the 20th century as “imperial overextension.” The ancient Greeks recognized this, despite having difficulties with power, perhaps because of how Hubris and Nemesis, the ugly sisters, smiled at each other.

The Americans are undertaking some serious introspection, not only because of the runaway government budget or the erosion of the armed forces, but also because the old nice idea of making the world safe for democracy and via democracy no longer has the advantage for them that it once did in Asia and most parts of the world.

China’s rise is shaking the political elite of Asia, leading them to ask for the recipe for future power and wealth, and Putin’s “vertical of power” serves as internal political abutment for the reconstruction of the imperial space that was once filled by czars and commissars.

Does America Have To Take Care of the World?

All this has not passed by the Europeans without a trace. Looking at the ruins of what were halfway functioning dictatorships for the longest part of the 20th century is unpleasant, but from Syria to Egypt, lessons in realpolitik arise. After the withdrawal of 300,000 GIs who guarded the Iron Curtain from Bamberg to Kaiserslautern, the Europeans have felt unexpectedly what it means to stand alone, with Russia as a difficult and churlish resident in the European house.

The Europeans have, for better or worse, no choice but to step out from the roles of spectators, critics and know-it-alls. The minister of defense, the German foreign minister, and the president found the wise — but to date nonmomentous — words for this at the Munich Security Conference.

From the “pivot to Asia,” which America carried out in a way that was more forced than voluntary, to the unknown, but visible, conflicts over strategic benefits and the rising conflicts over global warming, new power geometries have arisen, which will decide who will inherit the earth. Nothing is certain anymore; no answer applies beyond the present.

As if there were an innate duty of America to take care of the rest of the world, the Europeans look to the U.S. in persistent fretfulness about America’s sometimes rude methods, from the spying practices of the National Security Agency to extraterritorial legislative claims for help when things get tight. Relentlessly then, the question arises worldwide as to what America stands for and for what God’s own country is willing to put its goods and people on the line.

For Europeans, this is not an advanced seminar in regional studies, but a vital question because the certainty that America will always protect Europeans from the consequences of their weaknesses and their wishful thinking is faltering.

Europe Lacks Strength and Will

There have been requests from German political circles, up to the federal president, for the country to be more willing to assume more international responsibility, and “without us” is no option for the heavyweight in the middle of Europe — that reveals the late realization of the necessity:

Because it is still true that there can be a “West” as a global political pole only with the interaction of the countries on both shores of the Atlantic Ocean. For this, however, America is needed more than all the others combined. As Bill Clinton once said, it is “the indispensable nation.”

But what if God’s own country no longer believes in itself, the shining city on the hill, the new Jerusalem? “Novus ordo seclorum,” the “new world order” — Americans can read this on every dollar bill. But if America declares itself as unavailable, and no longer wants to police the world, who is going to protect the basic parameters of liberal world order, free trade and freedom of the seas? China and Russia lack confidence, and Europe lacks strength and will.

Isolationism Remains Tempting

At West Point, in front of young officers, Barack Obama recently outlined a new security doctrine, and this must spur the Europeans into action. America is now its own neighbor. The allies were barely mentioned, as well as core interests, which must be defended if necessary.

But there was no mention of the “indispensable nation” and of the world order for which it stands. If America wins in Asia, the more the great red dragon will breathe fire on friends and allies, and also in Europe, NATO does not need to apologize for its existence, but leadership is different.

Since 1945, deterrence has been the end and means of the Pax Americana, but Obama has twice violated the basic rules of strategy, each time with good reason and bad consequences: first, when the Syrian dictator crossed America’s “red line” with the use of chemical weapons; and second, when Obama announced strong sanctions against Putin’s land grab — and left it at that. Every time, there were good reasons to be cautious, but security has a different logic.

America is far from indispensable, but isolationism is tempting, as well as the reminder of the early years to keep a distance from “entangling alliances.” Because America is overwhelmed by itself, by its geopolitical rivals and by the weakness of the Europeans. They will get the America they deserve.