The Three Revolutions

US policymakers must grapple with radical changes in the structure of international politics, suggests Henry A. Kissinger, US former secretary of the state. The upcoming presidential election has sparked lively debate over US foreign policy, yet this debate focuses on narrow, tactical concerns rather than the broad, strategic challenges. The European state system – the fundamental feature of world politics for centuries – could transform. Transnationalists in both the European Union and pan-Islamic movements both challenge the structure of the state itself. Meanwhile, the balance of international power is shifting to Asia. If the US is to preserve prominence in the international state system, it must grapple with the changing nature of state power. Sadly, neither American voters nor their leaders seem prepared for that debate. – YaleGlobal