Ethical Realism and American Foreign PolicyEthical Realism and American Foreign Policy
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Book, 2006
Current format, Book, 2006, , No Longer Available.Book, 2006
Current format, Book, 2006, , No Longer Available. Offered in 0 more formatsTwo senior policy analysts representing both sides of the political spectrum provide an incisive critique of the problems with American foreign policy and what can be done to solve them, arguing that the nation has lost its moral compass and calling for a return to a policy of ethical realism.
Two senior policy analysts representing both sides of the political spectrum provide an incisive critique of the problems with American foreign policy and what can be done to solve them, arguing that the nation has lost its moral compass and calling for a return to a policy of ethical realism. 25,000 first printing.
Lieven (a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation) and Hulshman (a former senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations) propose to steer American foreign policy away from the contradictory directions of hard-line realism and utopian morality and towards an "ethical realism" that incorporates moral thinking into classical realist concerns of national interests. They link this concept, influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr, Hans Morgenthau, and George Kennan, with the concept of the "Great Capitalist Peace," which accommodates other great powers in an effort to make stakeholders of much of the world. After expanding upon their twin concepts they describe how they should be applied to the Iraq War (e.g. establish a US-sponsored regional concert to prevent civil war) and confrontations with Iran and Korea, among other foreign policy flashpoints. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
America today faces a world more complicated than ever before, but both political parties have failed to envision a foreign policy that addresses our greatest threats. As a result, the United States risks lurching from crisis to crisis. In Ethical Realism, Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman, two distinguished policy experts from different political camps, have joined forces to write an impassioned manifesto that illuminates a new way forward.
Rather than blindly asserting a mixture of American power and the transformative effects of democracy, Lieven and Hulsman call for a foreign policy that recognizes America’s real strengths and weaknesses, and those of other nations. They explain how the United States can successfully combine genuine morality with tough and practical common sense.
To achieve these goals, Lieven and Hulsman emphasize the core principles of the American tradition of ethical realism, as set out by Reinhold Niebuhr, Hans Morgenthau, and George Kennan: prudence, patriotism, responsibility, humility, and a deep understanding of other nations. They show how this spirit informed the strategies of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower in the early years of the Cold War and how these presidents were able to contain Soviet expansionism while rejecting the pressure for disastrous preventive wars a threat that has returned since 9/11.
Drawing on this philosophy and these historical lessons, Lieven and Hulsman provide a set of concrete proposals for tackling the problems we face today, including the terrorist threat, Iran, Russia, the Middle East, and China. Their arguments are intended to establish American global power on a more limited but much firmer basis, with greater international support. Both morally stirring and deeply practical, this book shows us how to strengthen our national security, pursue our national interests, and restore American leadership in the world.
Two senior policy analysts representing both sides of the political spectrum provide an incisive critique of the problems with American foreign policy and what can be done to solve them, arguing that the nation has lost its moral compass and calling for a return to a policy of ethical realism. 25,000 first printing.
Lieven (a senior research fellow at the New America Foundation) and Hulshman (a former senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations) propose to steer American foreign policy away from the contradictory directions of hard-line realism and utopian morality and towards an "ethical realism" that incorporates moral thinking into classical realist concerns of national interests. They link this concept, influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr, Hans Morgenthau, and George Kennan, with the concept of the "Great Capitalist Peace," which accommodates other great powers in an effort to make stakeholders of much of the world. After expanding upon their twin concepts they describe how they should be applied to the Iraq War (e.g. establish a US-sponsored regional concert to prevent civil war) and confrontations with Iran and Korea, among other foreign policy flashpoints. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
America today faces a world more complicated than ever before, but both political parties have failed to envision a foreign policy that addresses our greatest threats. As a result, the United States risks lurching from crisis to crisis. In Ethical Realism, Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman, two distinguished policy experts from different political camps, have joined forces to write an impassioned manifesto that illuminates a new way forward.
Rather than blindly asserting a mixture of American power and the transformative effects of democracy, Lieven and Hulsman call for a foreign policy that recognizes America’s real strengths and weaknesses, and those of other nations. They explain how the United States can successfully combine genuine morality with tough and practical common sense.
To achieve these goals, Lieven and Hulsman emphasize the core principles of the American tradition of ethical realism, as set out by Reinhold Niebuhr, Hans Morgenthau, and George Kennan: prudence, patriotism, responsibility, humility, and a deep understanding of other nations. They show how this spirit informed the strategies of Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower in the early years of the Cold War and how these presidents were able to contain Soviet expansionism while rejecting the pressure for disastrous preventive wars a threat that has returned since 9/11.
Drawing on this philosophy and these historical lessons, Lieven and Hulsman provide a set of concrete proposals for tackling the problems we face today, including the terrorist threat, Iran, Russia, the Middle East, and China. Their arguments are intended to establish American global power on a more limited but much firmer basis, with greater international support. Both morally stirring and deeply practical, this book shows us how to strengthen our national security, pursue our national interests, and restore American leadership in the world.
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- New York : Pantheon Books, 2006.
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