For better or worse, the struggle against terror may well intensify, rather than ameliorate, unilateralist and isolationist instincts. - Charles A. Kupchan

The Europeans are … making a choice that will inevitably give Europe more geopolitical clout—at the expense of American primacy. … And the impetus will come not just from Europe's new ambition, which will gather slowly, but also from America's domestic politics and its schizophrenic reaction to the rise of Europe.

As a matter of urgency, America needs to begin to prepare itself and the rest of the world for this uncertain future. To wait until American dominance is already gone would be to squander the enormous opportunity that comes with primacy. America must devise a grand strategy for the transition to a world of multiple power centers now, while it still has the luxury of doing so. This is the central challenge of The End of the American Era.

Economic interdependence does promote shared interests, but it also creates shared vulnerabilities. … In an adversial context, shared interests provide opportunities for exploitation, not mutual gain.