Autocrats vs. Democrats: China, Russia, America, and the New Global Disorder

"A history, an analysis, and a set of prescriptions for the greatest geopolitical challenge of our time: the threat to the democratic world posed by China and Russia." --Anne Applebaum, author of Autocracy, Inc.

"A monumental account of contemporary geopolitics"--Francis Fukuyama, author of Liberalism and Its Discontents
From New York Times bestselling author and former ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul comes a bold, clear-eyed look at how the autocracies of China and Russia are challenging the current global order, and how America's future depends on successfully confronting this threat.

The rise of China, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the reelection of President Donald Trump have reinforced a gloomy yet growing consensus: the old global order has ended, and a new Cold War has begun. And yet, many of the perils we face today are distinctly different from those we encountered from the Soviet Union. The alliance between the autocracies of China and Russia, China's economic might, the rise of the far right in the United States and Europe, and the disturbing isolationist foreign policy shifts of the Trump administration--taken together represent new challenges for the democratic world. They are threats with no precedent in the past century.
In this sweeping account of great power competition between the United States, China, and Russia over the past three centuries, Michael McFaul--former ambassador to Russia and international affairs analyst for NBC News--argues persuasively that today's challenges require fresh thinking, not constrained by distant memories of the Cold War or the nationalist dreams of MAGA. One of the preeminent thinkers on American foreign policy for decades, McFaul combines in-depth historical analysis with a forward-looking perspective, crafting a new grand strategy for America in this age of global disorder. Acknowledging how Xi's China, Putin's Russia, and Trump's America are upending the current international system, Autocrats vs. Democrats makes the case against America's retreat from the world, detailing why:

• Russia's disruptive ambitions should not be underestimated.
• China's capabilities should not be overestimated.
• Trump's shift toward isolationism and autocracy will weaken America's place in the world.

At once a clarion call for American diplomacy and a forceful rebuttal of the Trump administration's policies, Autocrats vs. Democrats provides a nuanced assessment of the China and Russia threats, as well as a bold vision for renewing America's leadership on the world stage.

Author: Michael McFaul
Publisher: Mariner Books
Published: 10/28/2025
Pages: 544
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 8.30h x 6.00w x 1.70d
ISBN: 9780358677871


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/15/2025
Booklist 10/01/2025

About the Author
McFaul, Michael: -

Michael McFaul is the Director of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, the Ken Olivier and Angela Nomellini Professor of International Studies at the Department of Political Science, and Peter and Helen Bing Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, all at Stanford University. He is also an international affairs analyst for NBC News. Previously, he served in the Obama administration for five years, first as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council at the White House (2009-2012) and then as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation (2012-2014). He has authored several books, including, most recently, the New York Times bestseller From Cold War to Hot Peace: An American Ambassador in Putin's Russia.