The Unraveling of the American Order

For most of the postwar era, the American-led international order rested on a disciplined bargain: the United States would exercise unmatched power, but it would restrain that power through rules, alliances, and institutions that limited its own discretion. That restraint was not an act of generosity. It was the foundation of American legitimacy and the reason other nations accepted US leadership rather than organizing against it.

That order did not decay naturally. It was dismantled deliberately.

The rupture in America’s global role is confined to a single administration and a specific political philosophy that rejects restraint in favor of dominance. Influence has been replaced by intimidation. Stewardship has given way to spectacle. Power is no longer embedded in institutions but personalized around a small group of hubristic individuals who equate unpredictability with strength and obedience with respect.

But this collapse does not rest on the executive alone.

The United States was designed with safeguards precisely to prevent this outcome. The Constitution does not presume virtuous leaders. It presumes ambition restrained by ambition. Congress is not ornamental. It exists to check executive excess, defend institutional continuity, and protect the long term interests of the nation against the impulses of any single leader or faction.

In this moment, the Republican controlled Congress has abdicated that responsibility.

Rather than constrain an executive openly dismantling America’s credibility abroad, Congress has surrendered its oversight role. Rather than defend treaty obligations, alliance structures, and the rule of law, it has chosen partisan loyalty over constitutional duty. Rather than protect American power by disciplining its use, it has enabled its reckless deployment.

This failure is not procedural. It is substantive.

By refusing to exercise its authorities, Congress has allowed American foreign policy to be reduced to the whims of individuals whose motivations appear personal before they are strategic. Commitments are made and broken without consequence. Threats are issued without follow through. Institutions are bypassed or hollowed out. Allies are insulted, rivals emboldened, and norms discarded openly.

The historical parallel is not accidental.

In the 1930s, fascist movements succeeded not only because of charismatic executives, but because legislatures failed to act. Constraints were mocked as weaknesses. Oversight was dismissed as obstruction. Parliamentary bodies surrendered their roles willingly, often believing they could later reclaim authority. They never did. Power, once centralized and personalized, does not return itself voluntarily.

The Republican Congress has made a similar wager.

The international consequences are already visible. American guarantees are discounted. Treaties are treated as provisional. Diplomacy with Washington is conducted tactically, with contingency plans for reversal. Allies hedge. Rivals probe. Smaller states assume instability and act accordingly.

This erosion of trust directly undermines American economic dominance. Global capital depends on predictability. Trade networks rely on rules. The dollar’s privileged status rests on confidence that the United States governs itself competently and honors its commitments. A country that treats agreements as disposable invites diversification away from its financial institutions, supply chains, and currency.

It also undermines military dominance. Alliances magnify power. When they weaken, force must be substituted for legitimacy. Deterrence becomes louder, more brittle, and more prone to miscalculation. American forces are required to do more with less diplomatic cover, accelerating exhaustion and risk.

Cultural dominance erodes last, but not forever. The global appeal of American values has never rested solely on rhetoric. It rested on example. When constitutional checks fail, when power is openly personalized, when restraint is derided, the United States forfeits its claim to moral leadership. Cultural influence dissipates not because others suddenly reject freedom, but because they no longer see it practiced consistently.

This collapse is not inevitable. It is the product of choices.

The American order did not fail because it was obsolete. It failed because Congress chose not to defend it. By refusing to constrain an executive acting in ways corrosive to long term national interest, the Republican Congress has made itself directly responsible for the unraveling of America’s economic, military, and cultural primacy.

History will not treat this as a misunderstanding or a momentary lapse. It will record it as an abdication.

Rebuilding trust will require far more than a change in administration. It will require restoring the separation of powers as an active safeguard rather than a ceremonial one. It will require legislators willing to subordinate party loyalty to constitutional obligation. And it will require an explicit rejection of a philosophy that treats dominance as strength and restraint as betrayal.

Until that reckoning occurs, the world will continue to plan for an America that is powerful, volatile, and no longer capable of leading the system it once built.

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About Andrew Flynn

Andrew is a Mt. Lebanon commissioner, public finance and policy expert, volunteer firefighter, and community advocate committed to building safer, more resilient, and better-connected neighborhoods. Through public service and hands-on experience, Andrew works every day to make a positive impact in our community.

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