The Jungle Grows Back: A Case for American Leadership
Robert Kagan discusses the rise of political partisanship both at home and abroad and considered what the world could look like if the US withdraws from its leadership role.
About This Event
After World War II, the United States embarked on a quest to execute a succession of policies to generate a more peaceful, prosperous, and democratic world—carving a pruned garden out of an overgrown international jungle. But Robert Kagan argues that this environment created by America could be artificial and ephemeral if we allow it. With the rise of political partisanship both at home and abroad, and the exhausting role of keeping global instability in check, some Americans are increasingly leaning toward a withdrawal from American global leadership. What will the world look like if the US withdraws from its leadership role? Will an American retreat cause the international jungle to grow back?
About the Speakers
Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Robert Kagan is the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Senior Fellow with the Project on International Order and Strategy in the foreign policy program at the Brookings Institution. He is the author of numerous books including the bestseller, "The World America Made." Kagan also is a contributing columnist for the Washington Post.