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Title details for The Big Stick by Eliot A. Cohen - Available

The Big Stick

The Limits of Soft Power and the Necessity of Military Force

by Eliot A. Cohen
Bill Thatcher
Audiobook
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A renowned scholar of international relations argues that even in a changing world, American military power is as crucial as ever.In The Big Stick, Eliot A. Cohen argues that the United States must use military power in support of its foreign policy, but that doing so will be increasingly difficult. The United States must continue to assume primary responsibility for maintaining world order, or risk a chaotic international environment reminiscent of the 1920s and 1930s—but this time with far more devastating weapons in dangerous hands.America faces major national security challenges: a rising China, enduring jihadi movements, states like Russia and Iran that attempt to upend regions they then seek to dominate, and precarious ungoverned regions from anarchic lands such as Libya to the intangible arena of cyberspace. To confront these problems, our government must revive old concepts such as mobilization and preemption and, more importantly, engage in original thinking about how, and under what conditions, the United States should use force—as it will undoubtedly find itself compelled to do.Combining the scholarship of a prize-winning historian, the experience of a former senior diplomat, and the fluency of a gifted essayist, Cohen shows how America must rethink and reorder its armed strength to meet the needs of a world in flux.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    January 7, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781504741385
      • File size: 264356 KB
      • Duration: 09:10:44

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      October 24, 2016
      Cohen (Conquered into Liberty), a Johns Hopkins professor of strategic studies and a leading neo-conservative theorist, makes the case for hard power in American foreign policy, warning that shrinking U.S. interest in guaranteeing global order has already led to increased international instability, nuclear threats, and terrorism. Cohen begins with a calculus and defense of the U.S.’s post-9/11 wars and their “partial successes.” The U.S. remains the world’s dominant military power, he asserts, but its antagonists, unlike during the Cold War, are dispersed around the world. Cohen points to China’s growth, ambition, and militarization, musing on the possible triggers and consequences of a U.S.-China clash that could go nuclear. He also points to Russia, Iran, North Korea, and even putative ally Pakistan as potential threats. Cohen sees no future accommodation beyond a tactical truce between radical Islamists and the West, but,
      surprisingly, he sidesteps the role Israel plays as both a source of conflict and an American ally in the Middle East. Eager for the U.S. to remain assertive worldwide, Cohen makes clearheaded assessments that many strategists who don’t share his views and policy advice will nonetheless find strongly thought out. Agent: Andrew Wylie, Wylie Agency.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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