By Mohamad Hammoud
In a wide-ranging digital interview with political commentator Tucker Carlson, international relations scholar Stephen M. Walt laid out a sobering vision of an unraveling global order.
Walt, a prominent political scientist at Harvard University and co-author of the landmark book The "Israel" Lobby and US Foreign Policy, argued that decades of bipartisan overreach have fundamentally eroded Washington’s credibility in the eyes of the world.
Rather than viewing current international crises as random outbursts of hostility, Walt sees them as natural, if painful, consequences of a superpower in decline. For him, the unraveling of global stability is rooted in Washington's stubborn refusal to accept its real-world strategic limits.
The Delusion of Uncontested Power
For decades, American foreign policy rested on the comfortable belief that no nation could effectively challenge US supremacy. But as Walt explained, that post-Cold War illusion finally ran out of road. He argues that Washington’s leaders convinced themselves they could keep shaping global events through routine military interventions and aggressive financial threats. Instead of bringing lasting peace, this heavy-handed approach drained national resources, alienated longtime allies, and pushed major rivals into tighter cooperation with one another.
Now, as Walt points out, the world’s settled into a rigid tripolar balance shared by the United States, Russia, and China. In this tough new arena, Washington simply can no longer force its agenda onto rivals without facing immediate and costly pushback.
How American Missteps Fueled the Rise of Iran
Nowhere is this shift more obvious than in the Middle East, where American decline directly cleared the stage for an Iranian rise. Carlson and Walt spent significant time tracking how decades of relentless pressure tactics ultimately backfired on Washington. Walt describes how aggressive economic sanctions, military intimidation, and systematic diplomatic isolation never broke the regime in Tehran. Instead, those confrontational policies systematically marginalized moderate political voices inside Iran while handing complete authority to uncompromising hardliners.
By getting bogged down in endless regional entanglements and draining its own military readiness, the United States created a massive power vacuum. Walt believes this self-inflicted strategic weakness allowed Tehran to transform into a confident, resilient regional power capable of shaping regional events and setting the terms of engagement.
The Weaponization of Global Systems
Beyond traditional military showdowns, Walt warned that Washington's heavy reliance on economic warfare is quietly tearing apart the global financial network. The United States, he says, has made a habit of weaponizing the US dollar and international banking channels to punish political opponents. However, that short-sighted strategy triggered an aggressive global reaction. Nations around the world are now racing to build their own trade networks and financial systems that sidestep American oversight entirely.
Furthermore, Walt noted that rivals have learned to play the exact same game against the West. By leveraging control over key maritime choke points like the Strait of Hormuz, adversaries like Iran now exert real pressure over global energy markets, proving that economic coercion works both ways.
The Failure of Targeted Violence and Diplomatic Decay
Perhaps the most troubling trend, Walt says, is how quickly the basic rules of international conduct are breaking down. In his view, Washington and its closest regional partners have made targeted assassinations of foreign leaders and top military commanders a routine tool. While officials claim these so-called surgical strikes prevent bigger wars, Walt argues they mostly create dangerous power vacuums.
Taking out senior officials wipes away the very partners you need for any hope of diplomacy, traps both sides in endless cycles of revenge, and invites direct threats against Western targets. When legal boundaries collapse, the world edges closer to lawlessness—where no nation remains truly secure.
An Escalating Path With No Easy Exit
In the end, the interview paints a vivid picture of a foreign policy establishment trapped by its own past mistakes. Walt suggests that American officials have a hard time stepping back from confrontation because it means admitting their old strategies failed. Yet as middle powers expand their reach and great-power competition tightens, maintaining the status quo becomes increasingly unsustainable.
American leaders now face a straightforward choice: adapt to a multi-polar reality or watch the nation get dragged deeper into unpredictable global crises.
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