[T]he crisis of soft power risks accelerating the decline of [U.S.] power in the world, activating and speeding up centrifugal dynamics that might otherwise have taken years to fully manifest.
When political legitimacy becomes contingent on recognition by a superpower, populations lose their right to self-determination and democracy becomes a selective tool.
If the United States continues to indulge in ... power and military might ... and ignores the rule of law and the alliance system that have made [it] great, then that power and might will eventually slip through its fingers.