Although it had no strong wish to be active and adventurous inforeign affairs, the Clinton government vvas quite successful inreducing the financial deficit and so restoring US economicdominance at the expense of Japan and Germany, both of vvhich vvererecently regarded as the potential rivals to the US povver. Hovvever,these much debated Japanese and, to a less degree, Germanchallenges to US povver have been undercut by their poor economicperformances during the first decade of post-Cold War era and moreimportantly, by their unvvillingness to compete militarily andpolitically vvith Washington under the nevv, uncertain conditions ofvvorld order.6 Rather than balance the US, both countries have beendetermined to maintain the regular pattern of engagement thatdominated the Cold War