Unsurprisingly, given its preponderant weight politically and economically, the role of the US in global affairs enjoys a corresponding focus in our interviews and book recommendations on foreign policy and international relations.
Gideon Rose looks at US foreign policy and A G Hopkins looks at American imperialism. Foreign correspondent Stephen Glain discusses US militarism and Lawrence Kaplan, columnist on the New Republic looks at US intervention. On US relations with specific countries and regions, Orville Schell, writer and activist focused on US-China relations, chooses his best books on China and the US, Journalist and Middle East correspondent, Patrick Cockburn, looks at the Iraq war, William LeoGrande chooses his best books on US relations with Latin America and Harvard professor Stephen Walt looks at US-Israel relations.
On the changing face of international relations and foreign policy, Ali Wayne, fellow at the RAND corporation, chooses his best books on the US’s increasingly challenged position in world affairs. Joseph Nye, former dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School, chooses his best books on global power, taking up a similar theme. Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of the New America think tank looks at 21st century foreign policy and Jennifer M Harris, fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, looks at geoeconomics and the deployment of US economic power, rather than its military might in international affairs.
At a more general level, Jeremy Greenstock, former UK representative for Iraq, chooses his best books on diplomacy, Professor Charles Kupchan chooses his best on grand strategy and Geoff Berridge discusses why we need diplomats. Former UK diplomat, Mike Maclay, discusses the thrill of diplomacy. Turning to the world of intelligence, Pulitzer prize winning author Tim Weiner discusses the US intelligence services and Keith Jeffrey, author of the authorised history of MI6, talks about the UK intelligence services. Professor Rory Cormac chooses his best books on covert action.
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Super Sad True Love Story
by Gary Shteyngart -
2
China's Superbank: Debt, Oil and Influence - How China Development Bank is Rewriting the Rules of Finance
by Henry Sanderson & Michael Forsythe -
3
Economic Statecraft
by David Allen Baldwin -
4
Network Power: The Social Dynamics of Globalization
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5
Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
by Adam Hochschild
The best books on Geoeconomics, recommended by Jennifer M Harris
The best books on Geoeconomics, recommended by Jennifer M Harris
With its passion for neoliberal ideology, the US uses its economic weight clumsily in terms of foreign policy, says former state department official and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, Jennifer M. Harris. Here she picks the best books for understanding the vital area of geoeconomics.
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Is the American Century Over?
by Joseph Nye -
2
The Chessboard and the Web: Strategies of Connection in a Networked World
by Anne-Marie Slaughter -
3
The Sovereignty Wars: Reconciling America with the World
by Stewart Patrick -
4
Psychology of a Superpower: Security and Dominance in U.S. Foreign Policy
by Christopher Fettweis -
5
Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America
by Deborah Fallows & James Fallows
The best books on America’s Increasingly Challenged Position in World Affairs, recommended by Ali Wyne
The best books on America’s Increasingly Challenged Position in World Affairs, recommended by Ali Wyne
Reports of the death of the world’s only superpower may have been exaggerated, but America’s inward turn is threatening the world order it created after World War II. Foreign policy analyst Ali Wyne talks us through books to better understand America’s current role in the world.
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Expansionists of 1898: The Acquisition of Hawaiʻi and the Spanish Islands
by Julius William Pratt -
2
Denial of Empire: The United States and Its Dependencies
by Whitney T Perkins -
3
The Tragedy of American Diplomacy
by William Appleman Williams -
4
The New Empire: An Interpretation of American Expansion 1860-1898
by Walter LaFeber -
5
Cuba in the American Imagination: Metaphor and the Imperial Ethos
by Louis A Pérez
The best books on American Imperialism, recommended by A G Hopkins
The best books on American Imperialism, recommended by A G Hopkins
When George W Bush declared that America “has never been an empire,” he elided a half century of colonial rule over its overseas dependencies. But American expansionism has manifested in other forms too, says A G Hopkins, imperial historian and author of a panoramic new work of American history.
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How Statesmen Think: The Psychology of International Politics
by Robert Jervis -
2
Demonic Males: Apes and the Origins of Human Violence
by Dale Peterson & Richard Wrangham -
3
Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging
by Sebastian Junger -
4
Sex and World Peace
by Bonnie Ballif-Spanvill, Chad Emmett, Mary Caprioli & Valerie Hudson -
5
Thinking, Fast and Slow
by Daniel Kahneman
The best books on The Psychology of War, recommended by Rose McDermott
The best books on The Psychology of War, recommended by Rose McDermott
Traditionally, the study of international relations has been about institutions, not individuals and the psychology that motivates them. But that is changing. Rose McDermott, professor of international relations at Brown University, introduces the work of Robert Jarvis and others pioneering the field of ‘political psychology.’
The best books on US Militarism, recommended by Stephen Glain
American presidents may not want to send troops into battle or militarise foreign policy but, in the end, most of them do. The author and journalist explains how this happens, and why it’s not even the military that’s to blame. He picks the best books on American militarism.
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Covert Action: Central Intelligence Agency and the Limits of American Intervention in the Post-War World
by Gregory Treverton -
2
Executive Secrets: Covert Action and the Presidency
by William J Daugherty -
3
MI6: The History of the Secret Intelligence Service 1909-1949
by Keith Jeffery -
4
The Mitrokhin Archive: The KGB in Europe and the West
by Christopher Andrew & Vasili Mitrokhin -
5
Rise and Kill First: The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations
by Ronen Bergman
The best books on Covert Action, recommended by Rory Cormac
The best books on Covert Action, recommended by Rory Cormac
Many of us live in democracies and believe in government transparency, but the truth is our leaders have considerable scope to engage in secret operations overseas. Rory Cormac talks us through five books on ‘covert action,’ and some of the countries that have embraced it as a policy tool.
Books on the Aftermath of World War II, recommended by Keith Lowe
Postwar Europe was a scene of both physical and moral destruction. Keith Lowe, author of the award-winning Savage Continent, recommends essential reading for understanding the sheer scale of suffering, dislocation and fighting after the war was over.
The best books on The US Intelligence Services, recommended by Tim Weiner
The job of the intelligence services is to understand others and help leaders act more wisely, says the author of a new history of the FBI. There’s a balance to be struck between liberty and security but when the CIA and FBI do not harmonise their intelligence missions, people die.
The best books on The United Nations, recommended by Edward Mortimer
Edward Mortimer, the former Director of Communications to Kofi Annan talks about the need for reform, how when the Camp David talks broke down “the whole atmosphere in the organization became poison”, and his boss. He picks the best five books on the United Nations.
The best books on Non-Military Solutions to Political Conflict, recommended by David Cortright
David Cortright, Notre Dame peace studies expert, identifies and rejects one of the myths about non-violent action: that it only works in liberal democracies. He outlines that non-violent protests can achieve their aims, that terrorism can only cease through negotiation, and that wars rarely have winners.