Question

In this last discussion we treat our most recent era up to the present.

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 marked a significant shift in American history. Not only were these attacks the first to occur on American soil since World War II, they also shattered America’s confidence in many ways. What is the relationship between these terror attacks and the global context in which the United States found itself after the end of the Cold War? How did the terror attacks represent a significant challenge to the long-held view that America should lead the world politically, economically, and culturally?

The presidency of Donald Trump also marked an important shift in domestic politics. Along with the rejection of globalization, Trump argued for a new nationalism which he called “America First.” What consequences has this “America First” policy created in the Trump era? The growing populism in America since 2009 represented the largest form of disunity since the US Civil War. Why is America so divided politically today? What can we learn from America’s past about how to rectify such divisions?

And lastly, a more speculative question. Given the challenges and changes that America has faced over the past thirty years (end of the Cold War, War on Terror, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, financial crises, nationalism, increased racism, a pandemic), what can we expect in America’s future? Will America recover and regain its place as a global leader? Or will America, as Wallerstein put it, continue its slow decline?