Pep Montserrat illustration for Foreign Policy
“The Cold War and its aftermath made the United States into the world’s hegemon. It was a global empire in all but name, with alliances, interests, and preoccupations spread across the world,” historian Odd Arne Westad writes. “What is most curious about the current administration’s policies is that they do constitute a revolution of sorts, a symbolic rebellion against the world that the United States has created.”
Along with Westad’s analysis of the country’s changing role in the world, Foreign Policy has published several essays on U.S. history as America turns 250. Among other topics, the series examines how the United States has shaped the global environment through consumption and conservation, how a fundamental tension at its founding has influenced the country and its diplomacy since, and even the “making of the mafia.”
P.S. We’ve temporarily lifted the paywall. You can read the full collection of essays here, as well as any other article on ForeignPolicy.com.
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