Chapter One: The Breakdown of the International System

Published May 5, 2020

Since the attacks of September 11, our liberal international order has been facing three major challenges. New security threats, such as cyberattacks, are shifting security frameworks in ways never imagined decades ago. The disruptive capability of great powers such as China and Russia is being magnified by their unfavorable behavior. The rise of populism and nativism both at home and abroad has spiked the anger of individuals toward the international system. 

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Video Recorded: August 19, 2019.

Discussion Questions:

1. Why is it important for the United States to have allies in maintaining the liberal international order?
2. How has our understanding of national and international security changed since the end of World War II?

Additional Resources:

• Watch “Condoleezza Rice on What Unifies Us As Americans” on PolicyEd, available here.
• Watch “US Democracy and Foreign Policy since 1919” with Condoleezza Rice, Stephen Krasner, and Niall Ferguson on PolicyEd, available here.
• Watch “Condoleezza Rice: COVID 19 and National Security,” via Hoover Institution Virtual Policy Briefings, available here.