PERSPECTIVE GLOBAL AND REGIONAL ORDER THE 9/11 ERA IS NOW HISTORY What Comes Next for U.S. Foreign Policy Max Bergmann and James Lamond November 2020 9/11 cast a long shadow over the United States. The events of 2020 have finally brought the 9/11 era to a close. The 9/11 era is an era ultimately defined by defeat. America didn’t win its wars; it withdrew and is still with­drawing from them. America is now struggling with what comes next. Donald Trump’s election was a reac­tion to the failings of the 9/11 era. But while Joe Biden’s elec­tion looks like an act of resto­ration, his new administration will not be able to simply re­vert back to past practices.