To Lead the World : American Strategy After the Bush Doctrine

U.S. national security policy is at a critically important crossroads. The Bush Doctrine of unilateralism, pre-emptive war, and the imposition of democracy by force has proven disastrous. The United States now finds itself vilified abroad, weakened at home, and bogged down in a seemingly endless and unwinnable war. In To Lead the World , Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro bring together eleven of America's most esteemed writers and thinkers to offer concrete, historically grounded suggestions for how America can regain its standing in the world and use its power more wisely than it has during the Bush years. Best-selling authors such as David Kennedy, Niall Ferguson, Robert Kagan, Francis Fukuyama, and Samantha Power address such issues as how the US can regain its respect in the world, respond to the biggest threats now facing the country, identify reasonable foreign policy goals, manage the growing debt burden, achieve greater national security, and successfully engage a host of other problems left unsolved and in many cases exacerbated by the Bush Doctrine. Representing a wide range of perspectives, the writers gathered here place the current foreign-policy predicament firmly in the larger context of American and world history and draw upon realistic appraisals of both the strengths and the limits of American power. They argue persuasively that the kind of leadership that made the United States a great--and greatly admired--nation in the past can be revitalized to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Written by prize-winning authors and filled with level-headed, far-sighted, and achievable recommendations, To Lead the World will serve as a primary source of political wisdom in the post-Bush era and will add immeasurably to the policy debates surrounding the 2008 presidential election. U.S. national security policy is at a critically important crossroads. The Bush Doctrine of unilateralism, pre-emptive war, and the imposition of democracy by force has proven disastrous. The United States now finds itself vilified abroad, weakened at home, and bogged down in a seemingly endless and unwinnable war. In To Lead the World, Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro bring together eleven of America's most esteemed writers and thinkers to offer concrete, historically grounded suggestions for how America can regain its standing in the world and use its power more wisely than it has during the Bush years. Best-selling authors such as David Kennedy, Niall Ferguson, Robert Kagan, Francis Fukuyama, and Samantha Power address such issues as how the U.S. can regain its respect in the world, respond to the biggest threats now facing the country, identify reasonable foreign policy goals, manage the growing debt burden, achieve greater national security, and successfully engage a host of other problems left unsolved and in many cases exacerbated by the Bush Doctrine. Representing a wide range of perspectives, the writers gathered here place the current foreign-policy predicament firmly in the larger context of American and world history and draw upon realistic appraisals of both the strengths and the limits of American power. They argue persuasively that the kind of leadership that made the United States a great - and greatly admired - nation in the past can be revitalized to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Written by prize-winning authors and filled with level-headed, far-sighted, and achievable recommendations, To Lead the World will serve as a primary source of political wisdom in the post-Bush era and will add immeasurably to the policy debates surrounding the 2008 presidential election. -- Publisher's Description Contents......Page 10 Contributors......Page 12 Introduction......Page 16 ONE: A Farewell to Geopolitics......Page 26 TWO: End of Dreams, Return of History......Page 51 THREE: Beyond Statecraft......Page 75 FOUR: Liberal Order Building......Page 100 FIVE: Boss of Bosses......Page 124 SIX: Legitimacy and Competence......Page 148 SEVEN: Two Concepts of Sovereignty......Page 172 EIGHT: A Shackled Hegemon......Page 196 NINE: Soft Talk, Big Stick......Page 219 TEN: The Problem of Conjecture......Page 242 ELEVEN: Dilemmas of Strategy......Page 265 A......Page 292 B......Page 293 C......Page 294 D......Page 297 E......Page 298 F......Page 299 G......Page 300 H......Page 301 I......Page 302 L......Page 305 M......Page 306 N......Page 308 P......Page 310 R......Page 311 S......Page 313 T......Page 315 V......Page 316 W......Page 317 Z......Page 318 Acknowledgements. Contributors. Introduction, Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro. 1. A Farewell to Geopolitics, Stephen Van Evera. 2. End of Dreams, Return of History, Robert Kagan. 3. Beyond Statecraft, Charles S. Maier. 4. Liberal Order Building, G. John Ikenberry. 5. Boss of Bosses, James Kurth. 6. Legitimacy and Competence, Samantha Power. 7. Two Concepts of Sovereignty, David M. Kennedy. 8. A Shackled Hegemon, Barry Eichengreen and Douglas A. Irwin. 9. Soft Talk, Big Stick, Francis Fukuyama. 10. The Problem of Conjecture, Niall Ferguson. 11. Dilemmas of Strategy, Melvyn P. Leffler and. Introduction / Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro A farewell to geopolitics / Stephen Van Evera End of dreams, return of history / Robert Kagan Beyond statecraft / Charles S. Maier Liberal order building / G. John Ikenberry Boss of bosses / James Kurth Legitimacy and competence / Samantha Power Two concepts of sovereignty / David M. Kennedy A shackled hegemon / Barry Eichengreen and Douglas A. Irwin Soft talk, big stick / Francis Fukuyama The problem of conjecture / Niall Ferguson Dilemmas of strategy / Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro.