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ever and greater numbers of people—and we believe that other cultures will inevitably arrive at the same outcomes. This belief is our own guiding principle, a very American one.
    And yet, we’ve been down this road before—not just during the Cold War, but in World War II as well. Then as now, America faced the task of getting across its message without the benefit of a state-sanctioned media apparatus designed to do the government’s bidding, and with a message so overarching that it risked dissolution, especially in the face of crude and emotional appeals on the other side. Then as now, the American ethos of liberty and opportunity had to compete with nationalistic, ethnic, ideological appeals that spoke directly to people’s fears and resentments. At its best, America does not appeal to those instincts but rather to hope and aspiration.
    We can hardly fail to do less now. But we need to sharpen our tools and our arguments, as well as our understanding of our adversaries—and why we oppose them.

CONCLUSION
    Why America Must Wake Up
    “What we have been witnessing in Ukraine, with protests that began in November and have gained a volatile intensity in recent days, is the first geopolitical revolution of the 21st century.”
    — MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, FORMER PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA 1
    W hen we started writing this book, our first concern was to raise the alarm about the threat Russia and China posed to the West and to the well-being of the world at large. It was a matter of heightening awareness about an enormous challenge that had escaped the notice of most Americans. But in the interim, the problem we sought to bring to greater attention brought notice to itself, as developments around the world made Russia and China’s behavior page-one international news, nearly every day. The world watched in horror as an intransigent Moscow blocked U.S. and European efforts to forestall the carnage in Syria for years. The West had to face the prospect of a kind of world war if it dared to intervene in Syria, with the Axis backing a bloc of powers—from the mullahs in Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon—that thwarted all attempts to remove Bashar al-Assad.
    Russia’s aggression in Ukraine was backed by similar threats to escalate tensions with the West if it dared to intervene. Ukrainians found themselves effectively abandoned by the West and left to Moscow’s mercies. Saying little, as always, the Chinese ran diplomaticinterference at the United Nations, joining with Moscow to thwart a Security Council resolution upholding Ukraine’s sovereignty.
    The Edward Snowden affair became an international sensation, with Russia and China playing leading roles. And it became impossible to ignore massive cyber hacking by both countries directed against the United States and other Western nations and their businesses.
    So today, many Americans are probably more aware than they were a year ago about the role Russia and China are playing around the world to counter American influence. But the full dimensions of the Axis challenge are still not well known. Here is what Americans need to understand.
    The United States is a nation in crisis. Ongoing partisan warfare has left our government nearly impotent in its effort to address our most pressing domestic and foreign-policy needs. While we are hobbled, Russia and China are resurgent on the international stage. Thinking on the challenges each Axis nation presents, we can reach some broad conclusions. First, America’s influence around the world is receding: our military and diplomatic power; our political influence; economic might; and, perhaps most dangerously, the power and appeal of our ideas. Second, in these same areas, the influence of Russia and China is increasing. To be sure, there are huge differences between Russia and China in terms of their economic strength and position, their prospects for the future, and their place in the global political economy. But as we have tried to show, the