Editor’s Picks: America in the World

Read essays by Philip Zelikow, Fareed Zakaria, and Kori Schake on how the United States can live up to its full potential. [Foreign Affairs Backstory] December 20, 2023 | [View in Browser]( America can’t seem to decide on its place in the world. Republican opposition has stalled U.S. support for the Ukrainian war effort; the Biden administration is trying to use its influence to get Israel to change its approach in Gaza; and polls find that a majority of Americans favor the United States stepping back from a leading role in global affairs. With the 2024 presidential election on the horizon, the world is watching as the country grapples with its vision for the future. Essays in the recent issue of Foreign Affairs diagnose the problems at the root of the country’s indecision and offer potential paths forward. Philip Zelikow [argues]( that Washington’s policymaking talent and know-how have diminished since the Cold War and that the U.S. government must revive its core capabilities to face urgent global challenges. Fareed Zakaria sees American pessimism as the problem. He [writes]( that the United States is increasingly consumed by exaggerated fears of its own decline. Washington should maintain its leading role on the global stage, he argues, or else risk leading both the country and the world astray. To secure this leading position, the Republican Party must embrace an internationalist foreign policy rather than a turn inward, [writes]( Kori Schake. All agree: Washington cannot afford to ignore the world, otherwise another state will step in to fill the gap.   [Image]( [The Atrophy of American Statecraft]( [How to Restore Capacity for an Age of Crisis]( [By Philip Zelikow](   [The Self-Doubting Superpower]( [America Shouldn’t Give Up on the World It Made]( [By Fareed Zakaria]( [Image](   [Image]( [The Case for Conservative Internationalism]( [How to Reverse the Inward Turn of Republican Foreign Policy]( [By Kori Schake]( [Subscribe to Foreign Affairs for unlimited access]( [Subscribe to Foreign Affairs for unlimited access]( [LinkedIn]( [Spotify]( [Reddit]( [Flipboard]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( [LinkedIn]( [Spotify]( [Reddit]( [Flipboard]( © 2023 Council on Foreign Relations | 58 East 68th Street, New York NY | 10065 To ensure we can contact you, please add us to your email address book or safe list.This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Receiving too many emails? Unsubscribe and manage your email preferences [here.](