US Foreign Policy: On the Brink and The Empty Throne

ON THE BRINK by Van Jackson, former policy adviser and strategist in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, will definitely be of interest to our students.  Last year, I had several researchers interested in foreign policy and I know that one in particular bemoaned the difficulty in finding recent and accurate information about North Korea. Now, the just published ON THE BRINK has been praised by retired military officials, university professors and fellow scholars. Author Van Jackson speaks from personal experience; he participated in nuclear negotiations with North Korea and formulated deterrence policies with South Korea. In this text, he is not a fan of Trump’s handling of the 2017 situation, but also indicates that “conditions … made some kind of confrontation with North Korea plausible even under a Clinton presidency.” Jackson notes that “any prospect of opening [the North] took a backseat to nuclear survival in the initial years of his [Kim Jong Un’s] rule.” The progress made in terms of nuclear capability meant that “America’s historically preferred approach to North Korea (coercive diplomacy) was laden with heightened risks.” This, in turn, was accelerated by the more hawkish advisors and Trump’s own pre-dispositions. Jackson’s analysis which discusses approaches during the Obama and Trump administrations, includes over 20 pages of notes and references as well as a useful index.

THE EMPTY THRONE by Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsey focuses on the broader idea of “America’s Abdication of Global Leadership.” Kirkus describes this scholarly text as “accessibly written and has worth as a primer.” I concur and believe that it will be of special interest to those students who are researching the evolving roles of the United States versus China as world leader. Daadler (the president of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs) and Lindsay (senior vice president and Maurice R. Greenberg chair at the Council on Foreign Relations) have collaborated previously on a work about US foreign policy.  Here, they discuss a new world order and are focusing on more recent events such as Putin’s invasion of the Ukraine or trade wars and tariffs, along with the tenures of Secretary of State Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Mattis. 

Learn more about the book and its authors through interviews with NPR's Mara Liasson and local radio station WBEZ's Steve Edwards.  Look for THE EMPTY THRONE on our shelves soon.

Command and Control by Eric Schlosser

Our students are familiar with the writing of award-winning journalist Eric Schlosser, author of Chew on This and Fast Food Nation.  Now they can choose a newer title by him, Command and Control, which fits well with the increased emphasis on non-fiction choices for Junior Theme.

Command and Control: nuclear weapons, the Damascus accident, and the illusion of safety is Schlosser’s take on the dangers inherent in our nuclear program today.  Schlosser’s investigative reporting and research on newly declassified materials results in a truly fascinating read filled with details of an accident in 1980 at a nuclear missile silo in rural Arkansas.

With starred reviews from around the world, including being named a New York Times notable book for 2013, Command and Control is called “nail-biting … thrilling…” and “vivid and unsettling;” no wonder I found myself reluctant to pick it up as before bed-time reading. I did enjoy it, though.  This exciting page turner deftly and immediately immersed me in the underground environment at the military base. As Schlosser develops this narrative, he also focuses on the development of nuclear weapons since WWII, describing the historical context which is so important for our students’ essays and research.

Think about it: although they have certainly heard concerns about “weapons of mass destruction,” almost all of our high school students have been born since the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was extended indefinitely (May 11, 1995) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed (Sept. 10, 1996). Yes, they have recently been exposed to talk of “Cold War” rhetoric and resurgence, but Schlosser is writing about near misses, concerns about the American bureaucracy and a domestic nuclear detonation. His own extensive research is documented with over 120 pages of notes and bibliographic citations.

This important book will help to raise awareness and stimulate dialogue on a key issue.  More reviews and interviews are available here:  

The Economist: http://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21586814-unless-things-change-accident-may-be-inevitable-start-worrying

Mother Jones: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/interview-eric-schlosser-command-control-nuclear-weapons-accidents    

Rolling Stone: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/q-a-eric-schlosser-on-the-secret-history-of-americas-nuclear-arsenal-20130916

San Francisco Chronicle:  http://blog.sfgate.com/bookmarks/2014/01/07/qa-with-eric-schlosser-author-of-command-and-control/

Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324549004579065750053378722

and C-Span video: http://www.c-span.org/video/?314853-1/words-eric-schlosser