This lecture will help you understand position of the US in the post-Cold War period, and the global impact of its role as global superpower. The lecture is organised around a book, published by the speaker Michael Mandelbaum. In the first section of the lecture, Mandelbaum presents an overview of the main theses of his book: that the US faced no real threats in the post Cold-War period; that they chose to utilise their position by engaging in nation-building projects; and that these were largely unsuccessful. He contends that, with new threats emerging, this period in international relations is now over. In the remainder of the lecture, a panel of speakers engage with various aspects of Mandelbaum’s theses, exploring the role of the US as a global power in the post-Cold War period.