The Russia-china Axis: The New Cold War and America’s Crisis of Leadership

The United States is a nation in crisis. While Washington's ability to address our most pressing challenges has been rendered nearly impotent by ongoing partisan warfare, we face an array of foreign-policy crises for which we seem increasingly unprepared. Among these, none is more formidable than the unprecedented partnership developing between Russia and China, suspicious neighbors for centuries and fellow Communist antagonists during the Cold War. The two longtime foes have drawn increasingly close together because of a confluence of geostrategic, political, and economic interests--all of which have a common theme of diminishing, subverting, or displacing American power. While America's influence around the world recedes--in its military and diplomatic power, in its political leverage, in its economic might, and, perhaps most dangerously, in the power and appeal of its ideas--Russia and China have seen their influence increase. From their support for rogue regimes such as those in Iran, North Korea, and Syria to their military and nuclear buildups to their aggressive use of cyber warfare and intelligence theft, Moscow and Beijing are playing the game for keeps. Meanwhile America, pledged to "leading from behind," no longer does much leading at all. In The Russia-China Axis, Douglas E. Schoen and Melik Kaylan systematically chronicle the growing threat from the Russian-Chinese Axis, and they argue that only a rebirth of American global leadership can counter the corrosive impact of this antidemocratic alliance, which may soon threaten the peace and security of the world.

Douglas E. Schoen has been one of the most influential Democratic campaign consultants for more than 30 years. A founding partner and principle strategist for Penn, Schoen & Berland, he is widely recognized as one of the co-inventors of overnight polling. His political clients include former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Evan Bayh of Indiana, and his corporate clients include AOL Time Warner, Procter & Gamble, and AT&T. Internationally, he has worked for the heads of states of over 15 countries. He is the author of multiple books; his newest, End of Authority, was published at the end of 2013. Schoen is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and various other newspaper and online publications as well as Fox News. He is based in New York City.

Melik Kaylan has written about international politics and culture for the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Forbes for more than two decades. He has regularly reported from conflict zones throughout the world, from the North Korean border to the Caucasus, the Middle East, and the former Iron Curtain countries. He grew up around the world, was educated in England, and is based in New York.