The Dawn of Peace in Europe: A Twentieth Century Fund Book [Hardcover]

Michael Mandelbaum (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1996 | ISBN-10: 0870783963 | ISBN-13: 978-0870783968 | Edition: First edition.

With the end of the cold war, Europe is more united and freer from the danger of a major war than at any time in modern history. An historically unprecedented and highly desirable European security order is in place. The Dawn of Peace in Europe describes this new " common security order, " assesses the alternatives to it, and analyzes the conditions necessary for its continuation. Mandelbaum begins by exploring three possible futures for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization: retaining the status quo, retaining its current membership but expanding its mission to include operations such as the one in Bosnia, and retaining its original mission but expanding its membership to include some countries in Central Europe. He finds that perpetuating the status quo is necessary, that Bosnia-style " out of area" operations may be desirable but are not feasible, and that expansion is feasible but not desirable. He then shows how the arms limitation agreements of the late 1980s and early 1990s, in conjunction with the political changes of 1989 and 1991, have created the new common security order. The future of this new order depends on Russia and the United States. Mandelbaum assesses how the wrenching transition taking place within Russia might affect its policies toward the arms treaties and toward its neighbors. Finally, he evaluates the durability of the American commitment to an active role in Europe.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Certain to be an important point of reference in future debates on the mission and structure of NATO, Michael Mandelbaum's The Dawn of Peace in Europe lays out a clear and conservative vision for the future of the Atlantic alliance. Mandelbaum squarely challenges the two major movements for restructuring NATO, both of which have been limitedly pursued by the Clinton Administration: the first is the movement toward NATO-led "out of area" missions, such as deployments in Bosnia or other global hot-spots; the second, the expansion of NATO to the east, bringing nations such as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic into the alliance. Mandelbaum argues that both of these are bad ideas, the first unattainable, the second undesirable. Instead, he contends the alliance should hold to its 16 members and resist calls for extra-territorial missions. Mandelbaum's contrarian arguments are developed with clear exposition, drawing examples from recent foreign relations, as well as military history. This is an important and timely analysis of American foreign policy and the future of NATO.

Review

Michael Mandelbaum has written a brilliant book that combines the most lucid exposition yet of the post-cold-war order in Europe with a devastating critique of the Clinton Administration's foreign policy. . . .all the more devastating because its tone is so cool. . .this slim volume deftly exposes the evasions, muddles, self-deception and bad faith that to an alarming degree currently shape American policy in Europe. -- The New York Times Book Review, Walter Russell Mead

With the collapse of the Soviet empire, Europe (even when taking the Balkan tragedy into account) is more united and freer from the danger of a major war than at any time in modern history. An historically unprecedented and highly desirable European security order is in place. The Dawn Of Peace In Europe describes this new "common security order", assesses the alternatives to it, and analyzes the conditions necessary for its continuation. Michael Mandelbaum explores the alternatives for NATO, and finds that perpetuating the status quo is necessary, that Bosnia-style "out of area" operations may be desirable but not feasible, and that expansion may be feasible, but not desirable. Mandelbaum then shows how the arms limitation agreements of the 1980s and 90s, in conjunction with the political changes of 1989 and 1991, have created a new European common security order. The Dawn Of Peace In Europe emphasizes the inescapable truth that the future of this new order depends on Russia and the United States. Mandelbaum assesses how the wrenching transitions taking place within Russia might affect its policies toward the arms treaties and toward its European neighbors. Finally, Mandelbaum evaluates the durability of the American commitment to an active role in Europe. The Dawn Of Peace In Europe will bring any student of contemporary European political science up to speed by book's end. Highly recommended! -- Midwest Book Review

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 207 pages
• Publisher: Priority Pr Pubns; First edition. edition (June 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0870783963
• ISBN-13: 978-0870783968
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,499,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good, if knee-jerk, analysis of European policy, March 7, 1998

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[e-mail] (Kingston, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dawn of Peace in Europe: A Twentieth Century Fund Book (Hardcover)

Mandelbaum's "The Dawn of Peace in Europe" is a well-researched and articulate piece detailing the future of NATO and of American involvement in Europe. Though short, it is detailed in its analysis and provides the reader with a clear understanding of his position. In it, Mandelbaum attempts to analyse the role of NATO, and critique the directions that other have prescribed for the alliance. Mandelbaum feels that the best course of activity for the alliance is to stay as it is, and redirect its energies into "reassuring" the perpetuation of the common security order that exists in Europe. He feels that NATO is poorly equipped to pursue out-of-area missions, such as the one in Bosnia, and that expansion of NATO is a mistake because it installs victor's justice on Russia, and this justice will be remembered by the Russian people as an insult. It appears as though this analysis regarding the impact NATO expansion will have on Russia is somewhat of a knee-jerk reactions. Opinion has shown consistently that the Russian people do not care if NATo expands and do not feel that it is necessarily a threat to their security. Furthermore, many analysts including Andrei Kortunov have written their opinions on this issue and have shown that only in the most extreme case would there be a nationalist backlash against NATO expansion. Mandelbaum still views Russia as the enemy of NATO, as it was through the Cold War, and thus his view of the alliance may be somewhat dated. Despite this however, he provides the reader with a clear approach to the future of European security. Mandelbaum articulates the idea of a common security order existing in Europe now that ensures the peace without the high costs of balance of power politics and without the unrealistic tenets of world government. Whether or not a security order continues to exist, according to Mandelbaum will depend on whether or not Russia will stay peaceful and if the United States will stay in European defence mechanisms. If things reamain as is, Europe will be the bastion of peace in an all too unpeaceful world. I recommend this book for all analysts interested in European security.