Lévy shows how these five-Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, and Sunni radical Islamism-are taking steps to undermine the liberal values that have been a hallmark of Western civilization. Even when America did not live up to its ideals, it still recognized their importance, at home and abroad.īut as Bernard-Henri Lévy lays bare in this powerful and disturbing analysis of the world today, America is retreating from its traditional leadership role, and in its place have come five ambitious powers, former empires eager to assert their primacy and influence. Nations and peoples on all continents looked to America to stand up for the values that created the Western world, and to oppose autocracy and repression. The United States was once the hope of the world, a beacon of freedom and the defender of liberal democracy. One of the West's leading intellectuals offers a provocative look at America's withdrawal from world leadership and the rising powers who seek to fill the vacuum left behind
