"A history an analysis and a set of prescriptions for the greatest geopolitical challenge of
our time: the threat to the democratic world posed by China and Russia." —Anne Applebaum
author of Autocracy Inc. "A monumental account of contemporary geopolitics"—Francis Fukuyama
author of Liberalism and Its Discontents From New York Times bestselling author and former
ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul comes a bold clear-eyed look at how the autocracies of
China and Russia are challenging the current global order and how America’s future depends on
successfully confronting this threat. The rise of China Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and
the reelection of President Donald Trump have reinforced a gloomy yet growing consensus: the
old global order has ended and a new Cold War has begun. And yet many of the perils we face
today are distinctly different from those we encountered from the Soviet Union. The alliance
between the autocracies of China and Russia China’s economic might the rise of the far right
in the United States and Europe and the disturbing isolationist foreign policy shifts of the
Trump administration—taken together represent new challenges for the democratic world. They are
threats with no precedent in the past century. In this sweeping account of great power
competition between the United States China and Russia over the past three centuries Michael
McFaul—former ambassador to Russia and international affairs analyst for NBC News —argues
persuasively that today’s challenges require fresh thinking not constrained by distant
memories of the Cold War or the nationalist dreams of MAGA. One of the preeminent thinkers on
American foreign policy for decades McFaul combines in-depth historical analysis with a
forward-looking perspective crafting a new grand strategy for America in this age of global
disorder. Acknowledging how Xi’s China Putin’s Russia and Trump’s America are upending the
current international system Autocrats vs. Democrats makes the case against America’s retreat
from the world detailing why: Russia’s disruptive ambitions should not be underestimated.
China’s capabilities should not be overestimated. Trump’s shift toward isolationism and
autocracy will weaken America’s place in the world. At once a clarion call for American
diplomacy and a forceful rebuttal of the Trump administration’s policies Autocrats vs.
Democrats provides a nuanced assessment of the China and Russia threats as well as a bold
vision for renewing America’s leadership on the world stage.
