Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy

The World Is Even Less Stable Than It Looks

| June 26, 2017

Chaos is spreading — and that's even before getting to America's lack of competent leadership.

"I'm normally leery of the pervasive threat inflation that tends to dominate discussions of foreign policy. Because the United States is so strong and in such a favorable geopolitical location, pundits and policymakers have to pretend the sky is falling to justify bigger military budgets and convince the public to keep meddling in distant lands. And whether the threat is falling dominos, "creeping Sharia," the "axis of evil," or even "violent extremism," the actual threat these faraway dangers pose is usually exaggerated.

Right now, however, we're at a moment when I think genuine concern is warranted...."

For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Walt, Stephen M.“The World Is Even Less Stable Than It Looks.” Foreign Policy, June 26, 2017.

The Author

Stephen Walt