Crises can throw up a great deal of smoke and confusion. But they can also show, with piercing clarity, the deeper dynamics that are driving global events. In this way, the standoff between the United States and Iran exposes a significant paradox: The Trump administration is simultaneously unleashing and diminishing American power.
In one sense, the Iran crisis has reminded the world just how much power the U.S. actually possesses. America's outsized global influence comes not just from its material capabilities, but also from its position at the center of the world's most important networks — the global financial system, the world trading order and a vast web of security alliances.
President Donald Trump has long believed that the U.S. had become feckless because it was gutless — his predecessors had been too timid in using the leverage this centrality conferred. One of the guiding themes of his statecraft has been a willingness to get rough with enemies and friends alike.