Looking ahead in 2021: The U.S., no longer AWOL on the world stage

As it returns to an active role at the international table – at the WHO, at the G7, at NATO – the U.S. will find a less dependent, less trusting place. "Yes, the world has changed; we're in a far more fragmented world," said Karin von Hippel, the first American to run the prestigious Royal United Services Institute (the world's oldest security think-tank) in London. "China's much more of a rising threat and competitor than it was four years ago. All these other countries, such as Russia and Iran, that were pretty much able to flex their muscles in many parts of the world with very little blowback [from the United States]. So, it's a very different world."