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.

From Cold War to Hot Peace by Michael McFaul

FROM COLD WAR TO HOT PEACE by Michael McFaul is an absorbing look at the relationship between the US and Russia, especially over the last 30 years. It is written by a Stanford University professor of political science who served at the National Security Council and then as U.S. ambassador to the Russian Federation from 2012 to 2014.  McFaul says he had to “have the courage to write such a book – at the same time historical, analytical, and personal .... [with a] mix of voices.”  He does include much of his own story of public service while dividing this nonfiction work into three main sections: Revolution, Reset and Reaction.  The first contains chapters which discuss events during the early to mid-90s like Yeltsin’s reelection, economic reforms, and expansion of NATO.  The second part continues chronologically and covers topics such as going to work in the Obama administration, the new START treaty, concerns about Iran, and the Arab Spring. The third section is definitely interesting and eye-opening, with sample chapters titled “Putin Needs an Enemy – America, Obama and Me” and a later one on “Annexation and War in Ukraine.” McFaul, who was eventually considered a persona non grata by Russia, muses about the way in which individuals matter (citing the contributions of Gorbachev, Yeltsin, Reagan, Bush, and Clinton) as well as the choices made by Putin to perceived provocation from demonstrators in Russia (2011-12) and the Ukraine (2013-14). McFaul concludes with a twenty page epilogue on Trump and Putin plus endnotes and acknowledgements – how exciting to have been a colleague, research assistant or student at Stanford in his PoliSci 213 who was asked to comment on the draft of this timely and engaging book. FROM COLD WAR TO HOT PEACE received a starred review from Booklist.