Where is the serious foreign policy debate?

[Bill Moore]

Actually quite a bit of this looks very similar to pre-Cold War foreign policy discussions (when they took place). There was, after all, history before the Cold War. The US had a tendency to drift between isolation of some sort and what might be called "benevolent imperialism."

Steve,

Any recommended reads that addresses pre-Cold War foreign policy? I find it sadly humorous that many think we need to return to a containment strategy, because it is the only seemingly coherent strategy they're familiar with. We obviously had a foreign policy and strategy prior to the Cold War, and I bet there are lessons from that period germane to today.

[Windows97]

This is a pretty good book and IMO a neglected gem that I think is germane to the discussion...

The Captain America Complex

[Steve Blair]

Steve,

Any recommended reads that addresses pre-Cold War foreign policy? I find it sadly humorous that many think we need to return to a containment strategy, because it is the only seemingly coherent strategy they're familiar with. We obviously had a foreign policy and strategy prior to the Cold War, and I bet there are lessons from that period germane to today.

Some of the stuff relating to Teddy Roosevelt's presidency is interesting, simply because he was projecting the US into what was at the time fairly uncharted territory - foreign policy considerations that didn't tie directly to US continental interests (the old "Manifest Destiny" thing). James Holmes' Theodore Roosevelt and World Order is interesting because he looks at Roosevelt's concepts of the use of force in international affairs. William Tilchin has also done a couple of interesting studies about Roosevelt and foreign policy.

Our pre-Cold War foreign policy has alternated between being reactive to overtly aggressive (Polk and Mexico springs immediately to mind). Quite a bit of it was centered on keeping "foreign interests" out of our self-defined sphere of influence (usually Central America) or preserving our trade access to specific areas (China being the biggest example). There's a fair body of literature springing up about the Mexican-American War, and quite a bit of it is good. In my view it was really Wilson who thrust us on the world stage as the "great savior."

[davidbfpo]

A "lurker" alerted me to this ex-US diplomat's latest and long article. I've never heard of Chas Freeman. Some of it makes sense, both blunders and what next. In places I thought "he'd lost the plot" with a reliance on the Saudis!
Link:http://chasfreeman.net/u-s-policy-an...e-middle-east/