Is This The End of the American Century?

This site features updates, analysis, discussion and comments related to the theme of my book published by Rowman & Littlefield in 2008 (hardbound) and 2009 (paperbound).

The Book

The End of the American Century documents the interrelated dimensions of American social, economic, political and international decline, marking the end of a period of economic affluence and world dominance that began with World War II. The war on terror and the Iraq War exacerbated American domestic weakness and malaise, and its image and stature in the world community. Dynamic economic and political powers like China and the European Union are steadily challenging and eroding US global influence. This global shift will require substantial adjustments for U.S. citizens and leaders alike.

Amazon.com




Showing posts with label Chinese Edition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chinese Edition. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Dialogue and Forum on "The End of the American Century"

An extended "dialogue" on the themes of The End of the American Century has been posted on the website of the China-U.S. Friendship Exchange at this link. The interview with me was conducted by the organization's founder and president, Dr. Sheng-Wei Wang, who is based in Hong Kong. The interview focuses especially on America's changing global role and its relationship with China.

This November issue of the China-U.S. Friendship blog also includes two other essays on themes related to my book: "American Power in the 21st Century" by Harvard's Joseph Nye (author of Soft Power); and "Peace, Not War, the Best Strategy," by Professor of Geopolitics Madhav Das Nalapat at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education in India. Those two essays are accessible at this link.

My responses to those two essays will appear in the next (December) issue of China-U.S. Friendship.com.

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Monday, July 27, 2009

New Global Powers Emerge From Crisis: Shanghai Daily Interview

I was interviewed in Shanghai by Joyce Pan for The Shanghai Daily, an English-language newspaper in China's largest city. Entitled "New Global Powers Emerge From Crisis," the interview focussed on the impact of America's economic crisis on China and other "rising powers." On the same page is an interview with French actress Isabelle Huppert, which should add to the number of hits that this blog gets!

Shanghai Daily Interview

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Friday, June 19, 2009

Why is "The End of the American Century" Important to China?

Professor Ni Lexiong, who was the lead translator for The End of the American Century, has written this note, in Chinese, on how he came to know about the book and why he thought it should be translated and published in Chinese. The financial crisis, he writes, makes it even more urgent that people in China read the book.

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《美国世纪的终结》译后记


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2009-4-20 12:55:34 倪乐雄   来源:易文网

2008年11月中旬,上海大学历史系徐有威教授告知,他的朋友、美国巴特勒大学政治系韩孝荣教授向他推荐了梅森教授最新出版的《美国世纪的终结》,我很快与梅森先生取得了联系,得知这本书刚出版几个星期,在美国已产生一定影响。书中一些观点虽然也在各种文章中能够见到,但如此全面、深入、系统地探讨美国的衰落,并且观点十分鲜明的专著却鲜有见到,梅森教授的著作可谓弥补了这一缺憾。
在这本书里,梅森教授从一个宏观的视野描绘了美国正在历史性地衰退的图景。其理论依据是保罗·肯尼迪关于“帝国过度扩张导致衰退”的观点,这种观点提供的历史模式是:一个帝国为扩张和维持自己的势力范围,必然会把国力消耗在巨大的军事投入上,从而使国家首先陷入经济衰退,继而不可避免地导致政治和军事上的衰退。肯尼迪认为任何历史上的大国都无法回避这一模式,包括美国。梅森教授所做的工作就是试图证明今天的美国已经进入“帝国衰退的历史模式”,他的研究思路是沿着“国防开支——赤字”和“债务——经济危机——社会全面危机和衰退”这样走下来的。
美国“次贷危机”迅速引发了世界经济大危机,对目前和未来将产生重大影响,在这种时刻将此书译成中文,介绍给国内读者很有必要。因为今天的中国和美国似乎都已不由自主地来到了历史转折点上,秉性刚直的梅森教授非常了解自己的国家,并有独到的细致观察和慎密分析。他判定美国的历史性衰退已经不可避免地来到了,而且就是现在,美国政府和人民必须做好调整心态和姿态的准备。这一预言家式的断言,无论将来能否验证,都值得我们关注。
此书的翻译得到上海辞书出版社上官消波副总编和吴雅仙女士的鼎力支持,在征得梅森教授意见和上海辞书出版社同意后,立即开始了本书的翻译工作。具体分工是:倪乐雄序言、中文版序、导言、第1章,孙运峰第2章、第3章,南琳第4章,陈道银第5章,赵雅丹第6章、第10章,熊曙光第7章,王立中第8章,周晓华第9章。孙运峰负责全书的统稿和部分校对,吴雅仙女士负责本书译稿的校订和编辑工作。
此书的出版也得到渥太华中国事务研究院(The China Research Institute of Ottawa)和姜留义女士的支持,在此表示感谢。

倪乐雄
2009年2月18日于上海寓中

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

"The End of the American Century" Sparks Interest in China


A Chinese translation of The End of the American Century was published in China in April, just five months after the book appeared in the United States (see earlier post on publication details). The editors at Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House told me that they translated and produced the book in record time, because they considered it a "hot topic." At the National Book Fair in Jinan, according to the publisher, the book attracted a good deal of interest, and reached #3 on the publisher's sales ranking.

A conference related to the book's title was held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center on May 9, and I was invited to give the opening address, along with a number of prominent Chinese academics. The event was held in the Center's "Friendship Hall" (see photo) which seated over 1000 people. But the turnout was unexpectedly large, and a separate room, with sound piped in, was set up for the spillover. The organizers estimated the total audience at over 1300. While some of the audience were students and professors, most were businesspeople, investors and clients of a financial securities company that was one of the sponsors of the event. So they were especially interested in the U.S. and global financial crisis, and how that will affect the U.S., China, and Sino-U.S. relations.

From questions posed by the audience, and in conversations I had with academics, journalists and financiers, the reactions to my thesis of U.S. decline was decidedly mixed, and surprisingly similar to the range of responses here in the U.S. Some agreed that the U.S. was in serious straits. Others felt that the U.S. would remain (or even should remain) the world's dominant power. Some felt that it was China's turn to take a more prominent role in global politics and economics.

Shanghai itself provides a stunning example of how far and fast China has grown. I last visited the city 20 years ago, when most of the street traffic was bicycles, and before any of the magnificent skyscrapers had risen on the other side of the river from the Bund. Now the city center is as gleaming and modern as any I have seen anywhere in the world. The many downtown shopping malls, modern and airy, are filled with outlets of the most popular (and most expensive!) Western chains. The city's two airports are modern, efficient architectural beauties. The subways and trains are clean, comfortable and efficient. The world's first commercially operating "Maglev" train (magnetic levitation) connects Pudong airport to the city center, reaching a mind-blowing speed of 250 mph. The only real problem in the city, to my mind, is the street traffic, with the chaotic and dangerous competition of taxis, cars, motorbikes, bicycles and pedestrians (more on this in a later post).

In later posts, I will post more information on the Shanghai conference, with the text of my own lecture there, and information about the other presenters at the meeting.

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Sunday, April 5, 2009

The End of the American Century Appears in Chinese



Welcome to the Chinese readers of The End of the American Century! I hope some of you will visit this site, and contribute to it.

The book has just appeared in Chinese, published by the Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House, and translated by Professor Ni Lexiong and Sun Yunfeng of the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.

(See my 4/28 post on Shanghai Conference on The End of the American Century)



Further information and some Chinese reviews and commentary on the book are available (in Chinese) at this link.

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