An Open World

How America Can Win the Contest for Twenty-First-Century Order

By: Rebecca Lissner, Mira Rapp-Hooper

Narrated by: Eliza Foss

Length: 6 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Two foreign policy experts chart a new American grand strategy to meet the greatest geopolitical challenges of the coming decade

This ambitious and incisive book presents a new vision for American foreign policy and international order at a time of historic upheaval. The United States global leadership crisis is not a passing shock created by the Trump presidency or COVID-19, but the product of forces that will endure for decades. Amidst political polarization, technological transformation, and major global power shifts, Lissner and Rapp-Hooper convincingly argue, only a grand strategy of openness can protect American security and prosperity despite diminished national strength. Disciplined and forward-looking, an openness strategy would counter authoritarian competitors by preventing the emergence of closed spheres of influence, maintaining access to the global commons, supporting democracies without promoting regime change, and preserving economic interdependence. The authors provide a roadmap for the next president, who must rebuild strength at home while preparing for novel forms of international competition. Lucid, trenchant, and practical,An Open World is an essential guide to the future of geopolitics.

©2020 Rebecca Lissner and Mira Rapp-Hooper (P)2020 Audible, Inc.

Must for incoming US Administration and US Allies

NOTE: This post reflects the individual opinions of the member, and not the official policy opinions of any civilian or government organization.

Lissner and Rapp-Hooper’s new book, “An Open World”, takes a contemplative look at a possible new American policy approach to the International Order in a Multi-Polar system, and unlike other FP theories, charts a logical and rational path to America’s transition from a Unipolar to a Multi-Polar global order. I truly hope that the authors of the 2021 National Security Strategy will read this book prior to finalizing the path forward on the world stage. The era of imposing Liberal Democracy on other nations is over, much like America’s unfortunate but frequent over-estimation for the the opportunity for coercive control, which is ever decreasing as other nations achieve greater military and economic power. Our rivals are reaching economic and military parity, and the costs of a coercive international policy of spreading democracy, rather than supporting it where it already exists (vs installing it where it doesn’t) are more harmful than ever.

This book charts a bee path for foreign policy realists, that more closely aligns with the reality of unavoidably waning US global influence.

Let’s not return to the nostalgic post Cold War ideas of liberal hegemony, and plot an achievable path forward in the decades to come.

Abandon “Great Power Competition” for “Great Power Cooperation.” Yet, be ready to compete when cooperation fails. Our failure to permit illiberal nations their own autonomy, and our attempt to “remake the world in our image” has led to some enduring pervasive problems (reference Iran, Vietnam, etc), and it’s time we learned our lesson. Preserve and protect economic openness and individual national autonomy (Nationalism), regardless of whether or not that nation shares our values. Find common ideological ground, but promote economic openness over every ideological discussion.

Like it or not, this is the reality of the world we live in, and it’s moving further and further away from one aligned with our idea of spreading democratic values abroad. We can (and should) cooperate with other democracies abroad, but we cannot afford to impose our values on illiberal nations any longer.

This book is a must read for everyone in academic and operational fields of diplomacy.