The Geopolitics of American Exceptionalism

Abstract

Abstract:Leaders inside the United States have long tried to maintain favorable external conditions, especially in Eurasia, to protect or advance their domestic agendas. In recent decades, this connection between domestic politics and geopolitical conditions in the “Old World” has incentivized US leaders to pursue a pattern of never-ending military interventions. In turn, the material reality of perpetual engagement in Eurasian affairs has given rise to the pervasive idea that the United States is and must remain an indispensable guarantor of international order. However, these contemporary ideas of American Exceptionalism are dangerously mismatched with the emerging reality of a multipolar world system in which the United States has fewer opportunities to militarily intervene across Eurasia without risking significant repercussions.