The Weary Titan: Britain and the Experience of Relative Decline, 1895-1905

Research output: Book/ReportBook

49 Scopus citations

Abstract

How do statesmen become aware of unfavorable shifts in relative power, and how do they seek to respond to them? These are puzzles of considerable importance to theorists of international relations. As national decline has become an increasingly prominent theme in American political debate, these questions have also taken on an immediate, pressing significance. The Weary Titan is a penetrating study of a similar controversy in Britain at the turn of the twentieth century. Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Aaron Friedberg explains how England’s rulers failed to understand and respond to the initial evidence of erosion in their country’s industrial, financial, naval, and military power. The British example suggests that statesmen may be slow to recognize shifts in international position, in part because they rely heavily on simple but often distorting indicators of relative capabilities. In a new afterword, Friedberg examines current debates about whether America is in decline, arguing that American power will remain robust for some time to come.

Original languageEnglish (US)
PublisherPrinceton University Press
Number of pages348
ISBN (Electronic)9781400836406
ISBN (Print)9780691148007
StatePublished - Jan 1 2021

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General Arts and Humanities
  • General Social Sciences

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'The Weary Titan: Britain and the Experience of Relative Decline, 1895-1905'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this