Before I offer my initial thoughts about the “Between the Wars,” it is only fair that I join Ken in disclosing my own biases. I joined the Foreign Service the year before the fall of the Berlin Wall and left the State Department at the beginning of the second Clinton term. My final post, fittingly enough, was in Berlin. ...
Before turning to some of the broader themes that Chollet and Goldgeier have set out, in this post I want to focus our readers on two quotes from one person. The authors describe how, in the days after the 1991 Gulf War, an interested party was asked about why we did not drive all the way to Baghdad and oust...
I greatly enjoyed Chollet and Goldgeier's book on American Between the Wars. I have several thoughts about the book, but I wanted to begin by discussing their thesis that from a foreign policy perspective President Clinton had a disastorous first year in office. They write: "January 1994 brought an end to a very bad first year in...
This superb book is must-reading for students of contemporary foreign policy and for anyone hoping to be part of the incoming foreign policy team of the next president. America Between the Wars is a book about ideas – the foreign policy and national security ideas that presidential administrations bring with them into office, and the competition of ideas within administrations and...
Let us begin by thanking Roger Alford and his colleagues here at Opinio Juris for hosting this conversation about America Between the Wars, as well as Ken Anderson and Matt Waxman, who so kindly agreed to help keep the discussion lively! Since the book was published a month ago we’ve been doing a lot of events and talks, but...
The day, a few weeks ago, when America Between the Wars arrived on my doorstop also saw the arrival of another book via Amazon ...
The Council on Foreign Relations and Opinio Juris are pleased to announce a book discussion with Derek Chollet and James Goldgeier on their recent book, America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11. Here is a brief description of the book: America Between the Wars shows that America did not change in one day. The tragedy of 9/11 and its...
Professor Tracey Epps sends along the following announcement about a new women's group for those teaching or researching in the field of international economic law:Women in International Economic Law (WIEL), a new global organization in international law, will hold its organizational meeting from 1.30 to 3 pm on Tuesday 15 July, in conjunction with the inaugural meeting of the Society...
I notice it every time I'm in the States — Americans seem really, really fat. And so they are: according to recent Calorie Lab statistics, more than 50% of the people in every state in the Union are either clinically obese (BMI 30%+) or clinically overweight (BMI 25%+). Mississippians are the fattest, more than 66% of the population,...
According to the ICC President and Prosecutor, Lubanga's trial can now continue, because the UN has agreed to turn over the disputed evidence to the Trial Chamber and the defense:"The obstacles have been lifted," chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told journalists on the sidelines of a ceremony in The Hague to mark the 10th anniversary of the Rome Treaty that led...
Happy Fourth of July! There are many things one can be grateful for on Independence Day. One reason to be particularly thankful to live in this country is our nation's recognition of the pursuit of happiness. Happiness includes many things, but the right to enjoy the fruits of our labors is a key ingredient. I therefore found this...
The media is awash in stories about the stunningly successful rescue operation mounted by the Colombian military that freed 15 long-held hostages from FARC forces. A key part of the operation apparently involved convincing FARC rebels to move the hostages to meet with an "international mission" as the set-up for getting the hostages aboard a Colombian military helicopter and...
