Famous theorist warns of possible US disintegration; “Reckless talk” may gain political momentum.
An American publication, in an analysis by a well-known theorist of international relations, called partisan confrontation and obstruction of government plans and actions a modern disintegration in the United States and warned that such a trend could lead to a practical disintegration of the United States.
The American Journal of Foreign Policy in an analysis by Stephen M. Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard University and a proponent of the “balance of threat” theory, warns of the growing talk of secession and separatism among Americans and its implications for the country.
The well-known international relations theorist, a columnist for Foreign Policy, makes claims about US capabilities in the introduction to the analysis, writing, “What is the United States’ greatest advantage over other nations?” Is the economy large and still innovative? Economic power is certainly important, but how did the US economy grow so much? Is the army fully armed, trained and extensive in different parts of the country? Military power is obviously valuable, but what allows Washington to deploy these forces around the world and have relatively little concern about defending the country? Or is it a set of US allies? “In review (you see) some US allies add to its power, others create problems rather than solve them, and others are more like a patron than a significant addition to US power.”
According to the author, “In fact, the unique advantage of the United States has been its position as the only great power in the Western Hemisphere and, therefore, the only ‘regional hegemony’ in modern political history. Expanding across North America, attracting incoming immigrants, and maintaining a high birth rate for many years, what were originally 13 weak and loose colonies became the world’s largest economy in less than a century. “Without any powerful rivals nearby, the United States also had a level of free security that other great powers could only dream of.”
