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The Sovereignty Solution: A Common Sense Approach to Global Security Hardcover – December 15, 2011

by Anna Simons (Author), Joe McGraw (Author), Duane Lauchengco (Author)

12 ratings

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The Sovereignty Solution is not an Establishment national security strategy. Instead, it describes what the U.S. could actually do to restore order to the world without having to engage in either global policing or nation-building. Right now there is no coherent plan that addresses questions like: If terrorists were to strike Chicago tomorrow, what would we do? When Chicago is burning, whom would we target? How would we respond? There is nothing in place and no strategy on the horizon to either reassure the American public or warn the world: attack us, and this is what you can expect. We've also never had a plan that says: respect our sovereignty and we'll respect yours. There are two tracks to the strategy presented in this book: strengthening state responsibility abroad, and strengthening the social fabric here at home. Because no one considers the state of our social fabric in light of our foreign policy, or our foreign policy in light of what we might all agree America should stand for, this book is unique. Our goal? To provoke a serious national security debate that addresses and then redresses the gaps and disconnects between what the U.S. says, what the U.S. does, how the U.S. wants to be perceived, and how the U.S. actually is perceived. We offer a radically commonsensical way to recalibrate global security by getting countries to self-police.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"…thought-provoking…The authors, a Naval Postgraduate School professor and a pair of Special Forces officers know very well what they have written about. The ideas they propound are good. They are well worth taking on board."
--AUSMarine

"This book is recommended, particularly for those who are responsible for making policy decisions at the highest levels of government, and especially those decisions governing the use of force. Given current global focus on events in Syria and Iran, and with calls for military intervention coming from some quarters, one wonders if this book will become, or already is, required reading within what Americans call, 'The Administration.'" -- Starshell

"The Sovereignty Solution is an excellent pick for community and library reference collections discussing important international issues." -- The Midwest Book Review

A Select Title on the AIR FORCE CHIEF OF STAFF READING LIST 2013

"I highly recommend this book as an invaluable resource for service members, who, more than perhaps any other group of people, are directly affected by foreign policy decisions." -- Air Force Chief of Staff Reading List review

"The book thoughtfully articulates an alternate future US foreign policy supporting a new US grand strategy. This book is suitable for higher Defence College consideration, as it tests and stretches important international norms, while proposing policy choices impacting not only the US but also most nations of the world. In addition, it includes more than 65 pages of comprehensive notes from research, which add significant value and are usefully read alongside each of the book's nine chapters." -- Australian Defence Force Journal

"...the book challenges U.S. citizens and policymakers to formulate a clear strategy before demanding sacrifices from a fraction of the population. In this, it is a worthwhile contribution to what should be a pressing matter of public debate, especially in an election year." -- H-Net

"It is without reservations that I state that The Sovereignty Solution was the most important book of 2011 that most of you never read." -- Rethinking Security

"The book is highly recommended, because it describes a perfectly sound alternative to the current US military conduct." -- Naval Forces

"Counterinsurgency by nation building is concurrently official U.S. doctrine, an evident case of military malpractice, and the imperialism of fools…This book is a valuable contribution because it describes a perfectly sound alternative to the current U.S. military conduct." -- EDWARD N. LUTTWAK, military strategist and historian; author of Strategy: The Logic of War and Peace

About the Author

Anna Simons is a Professor of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School. She previously taught anthropology at UCLA. She graduated from Harvard College, and earned her PhD in social anthropology from Harvard University. She is the author of Networks of Dissolution: Somalia Undone and The Company They Keep: Life Inside the U.S. Army Special Forces.

Joe McGraw is an active duty Special Forces Officer with over 16 years in the US Army. He is married to LTC Leigh McGraw and father of three small children. He has served in combat with his Special Forces A-Team and his Special Forces Company, and has spent over 10 years with US Army Special Forces.

Duane Lauchengco: The busy life of a Special Forces Officer in today's Army parallels the equally busy life of a father with a bristling brood of four children and a very understanding wife. At home in a Cub Scout meeting, watching kids' soccer, or treading water, Duane contentedly enjoys North Carolina living

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Naval Institute Press (December 15, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1612510507
ISBN-13: 978-1612510507
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Customer Reviews: 12 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,069,497 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2038 in National & International Security (Books)
- #1889 in Terrorism (Books)

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12 customer reviews

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Karl

Required Reading

January 2, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

The Sovereignty Solution: A Commonsense Approach to Global Security is the most thought-provoking book on US foreign policy that I have read. The authors propose that US foreign policy should be governed by a quid pro quo that says, "respect our sovereignty and we will respect yours." No more anti-American violence, which the authors argue can be achieved by adopting a "live and let live" philosophy with a powerful kicker: "don't violate US sovereignty, or else."

This book should be required reading for everyone interested in US foreign policy. I don't agree with every detail, but the thrust of the authors'arguments provide a sound basis for redefining US foreign policy. For those who wish to dig deeper, the annotated bibliography provides a great place to start.

6 people found this helpful

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COL V

Solving the Sovereignty Dilemma

August 29, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Insightful, very forward thinking; ideas that deserve broader audience and thoughtful discussion.

2 people found this helpful

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Penny Witcher

Five Stars

September 26, 2017

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

love it

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H'Oscar

Excellent

August 18, 2014

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Excellent book written by enlightened and experienced people. The authors have both good heads and practical experience. They understand how to accomplish a mission and make a goal come to fruition. Their ideas have merit and have been proved. This is a highly recommended book with a very good, practical approach that may seem a bit hard, but the justification for this is clear and viable. Well done.

2 people found this helpful

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Danial Hallock

Pure Propaganda

April 23, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The first three chapters were a pretty good summary of international politics and the last two chapters were a decent look at future international politics (idealized), but the entire middle section was fairly consistently bomb those who disagree. Also, the last 80 or so pages were appendices; so the 229 page quotation was an over estimation.

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Malaka Chandradasa

If you hv brains

April 7, 2012

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

Well the book is a good read, but depends on what you think and where you are from ... I mean is it really the common sense approach ?

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William Podmore

Fine critique of US foreign policy

May 11, 2012

Format: Hardcover

Anna Simons is a Professor of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School, Joe McGraw is an active duty Special Forces officer with over 17 years in the US Army, and Duane Lauchengo is also a Special Forces officer with many years' experience.

Their subject is the need for the USA to adopt a new policy, of "respect our sovereignty and we will respect yours." This entails, "don't expect us to embrace your values in this country and we won't expect you to embrace our values in your country: or to be even more blunt about it: we'll be us. You be you. `You be you' means there would be no more government-sponsored proselytization of the American Way abroad. There would be no more inveigling by the U.S. government to get others to change. This buttresses the respect that sovereignty is supposed to accord, whereas self-respect requires a much more concerted focus by us on our domestic problems."

As the authors write, "populations should be able to live under whatever system of governance they choose, to use their natural resources in whatever manner they see fit, and to run their economies according to the principles that most suit them ..."

The authors cite Richard Haass who wrote of the threats to sovereignty, "States are being challenged from above, by regional and global organizations; from below, by militias; and from the side, by a variety of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations."

They point out that aid has failed, citing Kishore Mahbubani: "the story of Western aid to the developing world is essentially a myth. Western countries have put significant amounts of money into their overseas development assistance budgets, but these funds' primary purpose is to serve the immediate and short-term security and national interests of the donors rather than the long-term interests of the recipients."

They observe that from 1985 to 2005 the World Bank pressed Malawi to adopt free-market policies and slash or end fertiliser subsidies. The 2005 harvest was the worst ever: 5 million of Malawi's 13 million people needed food aid. Then the country's new president adopted the policies the West practised (not those it preached) and subsidised its fertiliser production. Now it is feeding its own people and selling food to its neighbours.

As the authors state, nation-building from outside always fails, so instead: "we would share our values, ideals, and principles, and let people make of them what they will. But we wouldn't build or finance projects or inject large sums of anything that can be pocketed or siphoned off. We would educate. We would train."

As they point out, so-called `humanitarian interventions' also always fail. They quote Alan Kuperman, "the emerging norm of humanitarian military intervention, which is intended to prevent genocide and ethnic cleansing, perversely causes such violence through the dynamic of moral hazard. The norm, intended as a type of insurance policy against genocidal violence, unintentionally encourages disgruntled sub-state groups to rebel because they expect intervention to protect them from retaliation by the state. Actual intervention, however, is often too late or too feeble to prevent such retaliation. Thus, the norm causes some genocidal violence that otherwise would not occur."

Again, occupations too always fail. No country welcomes foreign invaders or occupiers. As the authors point out, upon occupation, the initiative at once moves to the occupied.

The authors advocate US disentanglement from the internal affairs of all other nations. On their own logic, they should be calling for an immediate end to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. They call for declarations of war against those who attack the USA, like Al-Qaeda. They are wrong to claim that Hezbollah and Hamas are `attacking the United States'. Again, on their own logic, the USA should withdraw all its forces from the Middle East.

This is a rational, radical and effective critique of longstanding US foreign policy.

9 people found this helpful

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Erik

An overdue breath of realism to our foreign policy strategy.

December 3, 2011

Format: Hardcover

In a world just waking up to the constraints of resources, The Sovereignty Solution breaks with the unfettered idealism of the politcal spectrum's both sides. Instead it grounds itself in the reality of limited means, and seeks to align our country's abilities against attainable and defined ends. The authors' plan is to change the way we engage not only other countries, but our own. While at first glance it may seem a war-hawks cry, the trio instead lay out a framework to make the world less violent, less volatile, and less deadly. Their argument is steeped in the idea that our foreign policy should be built on who we are as Americans and should play to our strengths, not to those of violent sub-state actors. Refreshingly readable this book isn't written by belt-way insiders or academic navel gazers, but instead by authors will real experience in both counter-terrorism and counter insurgency. With shelves lined with hyper-partisan books dogmatically demonizing one another, Simmons, McGraw and Lauchengco have written a book that not only encourages discussion, but also demands it. A must read regardless of your political color.

7 people found this helpful

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5 star		37%
4 star		25%
3 star 0% (0%)		0%
2 star		17%
1 star		21%

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