A decade ago, there was talk of a consolidation of United States’ power and a unipolar world controlled from Washington. But a few years later, the narrative of the descent of the us has spread and strengthened. Today, in the international system, the debates between «declinists» and «antideclinists» have a more political than academic tone: evidence is collected in a selective way to sustain one position or the other, and in both cases prioritize an unsophisticated version of what is power and how the international order is evolving. We live in a system in transition, which is still far from being a clear and stable playing board.