America Is Retreating from Global Leadership

It’s been a year of the Biden administration. And for many around the world, the question is simple: Can America still lead like it used to? Many who recall the era after the fall of the Berlin Wall remember Washington as both powerful and ascendant. The world’s only superpower boasted a level of military and economic supremacy seldom seen in the modern day. And that juggernaut was coupled with a clear and abundant desire to influence the global order. Things, in many ways, have changed. With China’s competitive rise, a revanchist Russia exercising greater influence in eastern Europe, and American retrenchment in places like Afghanistan and Syria, the role of U.S. leadership is less clear. President Biden, following his predecessor's “America First” policy, promised to “restore the soul of America.” Many took that to mean Washington was looking to re-cement its role as the pre-eminent global leader. But some say that ship has sailed, and question whether the tables are decidedly turning. In light of this emerging divide, we debate this question: Is America retreating from global leadership?

FOR THE MOTION
Mary Beth Long
Fmr. Assistant Secretary of Defense, International Security Affairs

Bill Kristol
Founder and Editor-at-large of The Weekly Standard

AGAINST THE MOTION
Kori Schake
Director of Foreign and Defense Policy at American Enterprise Institute

Vikram Singh
Senior Advisor, United States Institute of Peace

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