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After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order (European Perspectives: A Series in Social Thought and Cultural Criticism) Paperback – September 26, 2006

4.4 out of 5 stars 74

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Widely reviewed and critically praised, Emmanuel Todd's After the Empire predicts that the United States is forfeiting its superpower status as it moves away from traditional democratic values of egalitarianism and universalism, lives far beyond its means economically, and continues to anger foreign allies and enemies alike with its military and ideological policies. As America's global dominance evaporates, Todd foresees the emergence of a Eurasian alliance bringing together Europe, Russia, Japan, and the Arab-Islamic world.

Todd calmly and straightforwardly takes stock of many negative trends, including America's weakened commitment to the socio-economic integration of African Americans, a bulimic economy that increasingly relies on smoke and mirrors and the goodwill of foreign investors, and a foreign policy that squanders the country's reserves of "soft power" while its militaristic arsonist-fireman behavior is met with increasing resistance. Written by a demographer and historian who foresaw the collapse of the Soviet Union, this original and daring book cannot be ignored.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

[Todd] has written what may be the most important work since Francis Fukuyama's The End of History and the Last Man... Already a best-seller in Europe, this book is destined to be much talked about and analyzed. ― Booklist

Slic[ing] the globaloney pretty thin,... Todd argues that a New World Order really is emerging, as country after country experiences the rising literacy rates and falling birth rates that precede a shift toward modernization. ―
Newsday

He makes some interesting points.... Worth reading for insight into how some people view the U.S. Throughout much of the world, America is more feared than respected and more disliked than admired. Ignoring such opinions is folly. -- Philip Seib ―
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel

I would recommend this extraordinary book to everyone troubled by US neo-imperialism... this is a brave and challenging book which contains a great deal of truth. -- Clare Short ―
New Statesman

After the Empire is a work of greater political engagement, excoriating the global impact of an America that has passed with bewildering rapidity from dream to a nightmare, and calling down on it a doom almost as rapid and every bit as fulfilling. -- John Dunn ― Times Higher Education Supplement

In this latest thought-provoking book, Todd predicts the end of another empire. He examines the fundamental weaknesses of the US to conclude that, contrary to conventional wisdom, America is fast losing its grip on the world stage in economic, military and ideological terms. -- Anne Penketh ―
The Independent (UK)

What makes the latest publication by the celebrated French political analyst Emmanuel Todd unusually provocative is its robust skepticism... Todd has written an important book which not only challenges the conventional wisdom but does so with exhilarating verve and panache. -- Neil Berry ―
Arab News

Emmanuel Todd's
After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order is the best new book on the reasons behind American 'theatrical micromilitarism.'... Todd performs the neatest surgery yet on the insecurities besetting the alleged American hyperpower.... Todd gives us more hope than any other recent writer that the day of reckoning is soon to come. -- Anis Shivani ― Adbusters

Todd's book is like a hearty dose of castor oil: strong medicine, but a remedy that, if swallowed, will help us to purge ourselves of much that ails us. -- Harold O. J. Brown ―
American Conservative

After the Empire is worth reading for insight into how some people view the United States... this book might help dispel some of the smugness that is one of the least attractive facets of the American character. -- Philip Seib ― Dallas Morning News

...it is a source of intelligent analysis and distinctive insights that merit close attention by all Americans concerned about our country's role in the world and the future we are leaving our children. -- David Korten ―
Yes: A Journal of Positive Futures

this is a book well worth reading -- Gerald Horne ―
Political Affairs

The most effective and most talked about of the new anti-American texts. -- Adam Gopnik ―
The New Yorker

Todd is a brilliant provocateur. But if his book is sometimes depressing that is because it echoes many of our current concerns.
After the Empire: The Breakdown of the American Order -- Eugen Weber ― The New Leader

About the Author

Emmanuel Todd is a researcher at the French National Institute for Demographic Studies. He is the author of numerous books, including The Final Fall: An Essay on the Decomposition of the Soviet Sphere and The Making of Modern France: Ideology, Politics, and Culture. C. Jon Delogu is a full professor of English at the Université Jean Moulin, Lyon III.Michael Lind is the Whitehead Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation. He is the author of Made in Texas: George W. Bush and the Southern Takeover of American Politics and, with Ted Halstead, The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Columbia University Press (September 26, 2006)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 192 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0231131038
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0231131032
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 10.7 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 74

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
74 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2004
A book about the "American Empire" that is refreshingly different from any other I've read or read about. M. Todd is a Frenchman educated at Cambridge University, with an American grandfather, a background and training that gives him an unusual perspective, at least for an American reader such as myself. More important, he published a book in 1976 that predicted the collapse of the Soviet System, a prediction that demands he be taken seriously. He relies heavily on demographic and economic statistics in his analysis, and to some extent differences in family structure in different countries. For example, he notes that while white infant mortality in the US decreased from 1997 to 1999, black infant mortality increased. Even though the changes were small, he regards them as confirming the failure of racial integration in the US. Is he right? I can't pretend to say. But it is a perspective I've never seen before, one with some plausibility. This is just one example; he ranges over many issues. Some of his assertions seem outrageous, such as his claim that the US is militarily weak, but he backs them up with facts and argument. The book sparkles with original ideas. Whether he is right or wrong in his claims, his facts are worth knowing and his arguments are worth thinking about.

****

Addendum in 2007: M. Todd's book looks better and better. As of 2007, the U.S. has been unable to win in Afghanistan, after almost six years of war, and unable to win in Iraq, after more than four years of war. M. Todd's claim that the U.S. is militarily weak no longer looks outrageous. A strong military wins wars. Maybe M. Todd will turn out to be prescient in other respects, as he was about the death of the Soviet Union.

A few other people predicted the Soviet collapse, but conventional opinion ignored them, regarding them as a near-lunatic fringe. The earliest mainstream prediction I know of that predicted the collapse was Brzezinski's Grand Failure, published in 1989. M. Todd correctly foresaw the future when general opinion was overwhelmingly against him. That's not easy, and it makes me think he might be right again.
36 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2004
This book has been a best seller in Europe and is only recently available in English. I heard about it from a politically astute friend in Germany.
Emmanuel Todd, who is French, offers a fascinating perspective on world political trends. The United States is the focus of the book but the book also deals with several other countries and regions.
One of Todd's theories is that the United States can't succeed as an empire because it doesn't have the productivity to do so. Other developed areas of the world that have been dependent on the United States and have supported the U.S. with investment dollars will soon discover that they no longer need us.
Todd believes the theocracies we see in many Muslim nations are only a temporary phenomenon that will be replaced by democracy in this century. He uses information on literacy and birth rates to argue that this conversion is already underway.
Todd has some interesting ideas about the relationship between family structures and political systems. He suggests that democracy will take a number of forms, depending on the culture of the country.
Todd's credentials include a book he wrote in 1976 predicting the fall of the Soviet empire.
Even is his ideas are wrong, they are interesting and provocative.
29 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2008
Todd offers valid analysis and provides sound arguments in this book. While one cannot deny that some thoughts expressed are clearly of an ideological nature, it pays to remember how emotional this topic can get - just read some of the reviews about this title.

I think this book asks the right questions and provides arguments that are worth thinking through. What is the US's role in the world, how do American leaders vs. the American public perceive this role, and why? And why does that matter? Furthermore, Todd's explanation of the divide that is going through American society based on its drifting away from universalism has given me a rational handle on things that go on around me. I grew up in Europe and have lived in the US for most of my adult life.

If one is willing to take an objective look at this topic and Todd's arguments, a lot of them make sense and turn out to be helpful. However, if someone reads this book in order to be proven right about his or her own opinions about this emotional topic, buying this book will be a waste of money.
8 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2006
Todd's book could not have been written by an American. Todd, a French demographer, applies his demographic skills to a study of the last remaining superpower. He adds commentary from a Euro-perspective as well. Other reviewers may quibble about details but in doing so they lose the big picture. After The Empire is no anti-Yankee screed. It is an insightful study of the current state of America -- as seen from overseas. As such it is an eye-opener. I lived in Europe for a number of years, and when looking at my country and my language from the outside, I was able to see a whole new perspective. Todd's book provides such a perspective on American power. It definitely has a certain pride-cometh-before-a-fall quality, and neocons especially would do well to read what Lind has to say.
9 people found this helpful
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Reviewed in the United States on May 1, 2007
This book bored the living daylight out of me for better parts of it, but it has some amazing insights. At the end, I thought it was well worth reading. Basically, he wrote same things as Chalmers Johnson, just a couple of years before him. It's also interesting to see how Europeans (in this case a Frenchman) see the USA. This book is definitely a 'political junkie' type read, so if you are one, go read it.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Yaz Yazoo
5.0 out of 5 stars As it described
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 29, 2023
The book came in a good condition.
Denis Rancourt
5.0 out of 5 stars As brilliant as brilliant gets
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2020
Todd is the greatest living public intellectual, based on the bredth and depth of his work. This book is as valuable today as it was in 2002. This is Chomsky in his prime, but always in his prime. Geopolitics. The English translation is good, but not as brilliant as the content. The book is also full of generally unknown facts, which are critically relevant to understanding forces and motives.
2 people found this helpful
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峯畑 通
4.0 out of 5 stars 流石書評に上るだけのことがある
Reviewed in Japan on February 27, 2013
読書会(45年継続)の会員の紹介;幅広い作品をン読んでます。
Poth
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking. But not a book for Americans.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 16, 2014
Well well, a man whose views are very close to mine. A good analysis of the introversion, arrogance and stupidity of America. But much more measured and objective than I am. Well researched. A European view (Todd is French, but the translation is excellent) that Americans could never relate to. I think, in a nutshell, Todd's overall conclusion is that Americans are so isolated from the real world that they can't see other people as human beings. And that would indeed account for quite a bit of America's behaviour.
6 people found this helpful
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Domi
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 12, 2016
I ll tell as soon as I read it !!