The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory

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By Andrew Bacevich *82

Published Nov. 14, 2019

After America won the Cold War, Andrew Bacevich *82 argues that we developed a hubris that undermined the seemingly bright future ahead. In The Age of Illusions: How America Squandered Its Cold War Victory (Metropolitan), Bacevich argues that America’s practice of economic globalization fostered a series of “forever wars,” growing tension among an increasingly polarized electorate, and moral upheaval that eventually led to the election of Donald Trump.

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PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
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