The United States of America has been the most powerful country in the world for over seventy years. The U. S. National Security Strategy declares, however, that the return of great power competition with Russia and China the greatest threat to U. S. national security. Further, many analystspredict that America's autocratic rivals will succeed in disrupting or displacing U. S. global leadership. In The Return of Great Power Rivalry, Matthew Kroenig argues that this conventional wisdom is misguided. Drawing on past political philosophers-such as Herodotus, Machiavelli, and Montesquieu-and cutting-edge social science research, Kroenig advances the novel argument that democracies tend to excelin great power rivalries. He contends that democracies actually have unique economic, diplomatic, and military advantages in long-run geopolitical competitions and compares these to the geopolitical advantages and disadvantages possessed by autocratic powers. Kroenig then tests these argumentsthrough the seven most important cases of democratic-versus-autocratic rivalries throughout history, from the ancient world to the Cold War. Finally, he analyzes the new era of great power rivalry among the United States, Russia, and China through the lens of the democratic advantage argument. Through a "hard-power" argument for democracy, Kroenig demonstrates that despite its many problems, the U. S. is better positioned to maintain its global leadership role than either Russia or China. A vitally important book for anyone concerned about the future of global geopolitics, The Return of Great Power Rivalry provides both an innovative way of thinking about power in international politics and an optimistic assessment about the future of American global leadership. | The Return Of Great Power Rivalry by Matthew Kroenig, Hardcover | Indigo Chapters