It would seem entirely reasonable to conclude that the world has taken several turns for the worse since President George H.W. Bush delivered his famous “new world order” address. The United Nations estimates that more than 250,000 people have perished in Syria’s civil war, and another million or so have been injured. With vast swathes of the Middle East collapsing, the Islamic State continues to wreak havoc, increasingly inspiring and coordinating attacks outside the region.

WASHINGTON — With China accelerating its military modernization, Russia continuing its slow-drip incursion into Ukraine, and an expanding section of the Middle East devolving into chaos, it has once again become fashionable to argue that the United States is in decline. Strangely, Americans are often far quicker to accept this diagnosis than their counterparts abroad.

Dear Mr./Ms. President:

Each of your predecessors has had to confront crises, at home and abroad, and, especially in the last third of our nation’s history, each has had to respond to events and trends abroad that could affect vital interests.  You will doubtless have to do so as well.

The U.S. is in relative decline, not absolute decline. Indeed, its demographic outlook, its progress on major trade initiatives like the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and its breakthroughs in fields like natural gas and big data — among other factors — suggest that it may be poised for a renaissance.