Dear Friends,

Stephen Wertheim, Afreen Akhter, and I kicked off the new year in New Delhi, where we found trust in the United States (never high) in a nosedive with “U.S. skeptics” boosted in India’s halls of power, and widespread suspicion that America is turning against Indians themselves. Our interlocutors were not happy about the situation, but India is already looking beyond the United States, for example exploring deeper relations with Europe and Japan.

Admist all the chaos, I’ve been wondering what U.S. citizens make of America’s role in the world, and how they view U.S. power in particular. Stephen Wertheim, Liana Schmitter-Emerson, and I explore these questions in a new poll, now widely cited.  We find that Americans support U.S. engagement abroad, but place far less importance on the United States occupying a dominant position.

NEW FROM STATECRAFT SCHOLARS

• American Power, Half Built
  
  In Lawfare, Afreen Akhter argues that while Congress’s reauthorization of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signals ambition to wield development finance as a tool of American power, policymakers will need to go further to translate that ambition into real capacity. 
  
• The Case for Upending World Trade
  
  In Foreign Affairs, Peter Harrell writes that universal trade rules make less sense in an era of great-power competition, and that U.S. policymakers should embrace a more pragmatic approach to trade policy.
  
• Does Trump Understand America’s Real Interests in Venezuela?
  
  On Pivotal States, Oliver Stuenkel joins me to discuss what is truly at stake for the United States in Venezuela, and how developments there fit into the broader structure of U.S.-Latin American relations.  
  
• Is Iran Reaching a Tipping Point?
  
  On Carnegie Connects, Aaron David Miller engages Karim Sadjadpour and Robin Wright on the unfolding crisis in Iran and America’s reaction. 

As always, we truly welcome thoughts and feedback, and look forward to continuing the conversation.

Best wishes, 
Chris Chivvis 
Director of the Carnegie American Statecraft Program

OUR FAVORITES FROM YOU THIS MONTH

• The Fate of America First, Reid Smith, Foreign Affairs 
  
  
• The Greenland Episode Must Be a Lesson for Europe and NATO, Sophia Besch, Carnegie Emissary
  
  
• What Spheres of Influence Are—And Aren’t, Stephen Walt, Foreign Policy