Peace and Freedom: Foreign Policy for a Constitutional Republic [Hardcover]

Ted Galen Carpenter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2002

Previously published essays on a wide range of subjects by

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

America confronts an array of international challenges and opportunities in the 21st century. The end of the Cold War altered the global strategic landscape in fundamental ways, yet U.S. policymakers were slow to adjust to the new realities. While that process of adjustment was still under way, the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States created a new set of issues. Virtually all of Washington's military campaigns in the post- World War II era had been discretionary. For good or ill, America's military power had been used almost exclusively as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy in far-flung regions of the world. This time, though, the American people must repel a direct threat to their security and well-being.

In this collection of articles published since the mid-1980s, Ted Galen Carpenter addresses a wide range of foreign policy topics. Peace & Freedom outlines a coherent strategy for dealing with terrorism, but the scope of the book is much broader than that. Carpenter presents a comprehensive case for an entirely new U.S. foreign policy-one of "strategic independence."

In the pages of Peace & Freedom, Carpenter examines many important issues, including relations with such key international players as China, Russia, and the European Union and such perennial problems as the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, instability in the Balkans, and tensions in the Persian Gulf region. He is relentless in his criticism of faulty U.S. policies, such as the willingness to let the European and East Asian allies free ride on Washington's security guarantees and the stubborn folly of continuing to wage the international war on drugs.

Throughout the book, Carpenter emphasizes that U.S. foreign policy must not merely become more effective, although that is clearly an important objective. It must also protect and promote the values that have made America a great country. In short, America's foreign policy must be appropriate for a constitutional republic based on the principles of limited government and individual liberty. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Ted Galen Carpenter is vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author or editor of 14 books on international affairs including Bad Neighbor Policy: Washington's Futile War on Drugs in Latin America (forthcoming, 2003) and NATO's Empty Victory: A Postmortem on the Balkan War (2000).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Cato Institute (August 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930865341
• ISBN-13: 978-1930865341
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,197,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.