As the United States stumbles through its economic challenges at home, the pressure of world events will not subside. But America's ability to address them has changed. Its fiscal weakness limits its ability to act as global policeman.
Despite the relatively costless overthrow of the Gadhafi regime, America's prolonged interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq have severely strained the public's tolerance for an active foreign policy.
Nonetheless, the U.S. seems destined to remain the world's most important actor for the foreseeable future. But today it is an actor without a script — it lacks a strategic guide comparable to the Cold War's containment doctrine to prioritize policy.