For several decades, Professor Joseph Nye has been one of the influential thinkers in international relations. He coined the term “soft power” and, with academic Robert Keohane, argued that countries can become so economically interlinked that military force is no longer the most decisive factor between them.

But in his memoir, A Life In The American Century, Prof Nye interprets the US’ current volatility with a simpler idea: Politics is cyclical. “People will say to me today, have you ever seen a period as bad as this? I say, yes, the 1960s were worse. We had major assassinations, cities on fire, two failed presidencies (Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon).”