Summary
The United States is entering a new phase of competition with China but is weakening its government institutions that supported its global leadership. This institutional weakness may hurt the U.S. ability to coordinate long-term policies and maintain alliances, which are important in the current geopolitical environment.
Key Facts
- The U.S. faces global competition not just militarily but through its government institutions and policy coordination.
- Effective governance involves coordination among various agencies related to finance, trade, industry, and security.
- U.S. institutional strengths include a professional civil service, independent regulators, strong universities, and rule-of-law systems.
- Recent years have shown signs of decreasing institutional trust and effectiveness in the U.S., compared to other democracies.
- Public confidence in institutions like Congress and the media has fallen sharply over the last 20 years.
- Policies have become unstable, with sharp shifts in areas like trade tariffs and climate agreements creating uncertainty.
- Allies and investors value consistent policies to plan for the long term, and U.S. volatility undermines this predictability.
- The COVID-19 crisis exposed additional challenges in U.S. public health governance.
