An intellectual history of the post–Cold War period


 
   

Seeing the Elephant

The U.S. Role in Global Security
 
336 pages; 6" x 9" ; 4 tables

Clothbound
$60.00   $48.00
Available: November 2006
978-1-59797-099-0
Paperback
$30.00   $24.00
Available: November 2006
978-1-59797-100-3

Description:

What is the current state of the global security system, and where is it headed? What challenges and opportunities do we face, and what dangers are emerging? How will various regions of the world be affected? How can the United States best act to help shape the future while protecting its security, interests, and values? How can the United States deal with the threats of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction?

An intellectual history of U.S. national security thinking since the end of the fall of the Soviet Union, Seeing the Elephant is an attempt to see the evolving international security system and America’s role in it through the eyes of more than fifty perceptive authors who have analyzed key aspects of the unfolding post–Cold War drama. Its premise is that, like the blind men in the Buddhist fable who each feels a different part of an elephant, these authors and their assessments, taken together, can give us a better view of where the world is headed.

About the Author(s)/Editor(s)

Richard L. Kugler is Distinguished Research Professor at CTNSP. His many publications include Policy Analysis for National Security Affairs: New Methods for a New Era. Dr. Kugler lives in the Washington, D.C. area.

Hans Binnendijk is Roosevelt Chair at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., and director of its Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP). He is the author or editor of dozens of books and reports, most recently Information Assurance: Trends in Vulnerabilities, Threats, and Technologies. Dr. Binnendijk lives in Bethesda, Maryland.

Reviews/Endorsements:

“Seeing the Elephant belongs in the library of anyone with an interest in international affairs.”
Air & Space Power Journal, Winter 2008

"...many undergraduates will find it a useful introduction to the existing literature on US foreign policy."
www.politicalreviewnet.com, 1/14/08

"Drs. Binnendijk and Kugler have rendered a genuine intellectual service by their comprehensive appraisal of the most significant contemporary literature on geostrategic issues. Their volume should be of enormous value not only to students and academics but especially to policymakers. It provides an incisive overview of the main directions of America’s strategic thought."
Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter

"The sudden collapse of the Soviet Union caught most experts by surprise. The ensuing changes in the global landscape have been as surprising and unexpected as the end of the Cold War itself. This extraordinary book is perhaps the best synthesis of the intellectual efforts aimed at making sense of this new world and at distilling its consequences for decisionmakers. Seeing the Elephant is bound to become an indispensable reference for many years to come."
Moisés Naím, editor in chief, Foreign Policy

"Seeing the Elephant is a terrific and timely book. It is the ideal starting point for anyone interested in national security strategy who does not have time to digest the more than fifty books summarized and distilled here. Better yet, the authors have provided a clear and accessible analytical framework that will help readers identify and remember the big ideas and important debates in the national security literature past, present, and future." Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University
Anne-Marie Slaughter, dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University

". . . a major work providing an important intellectual history of U.S. national security thinking since the fall of the Soviet Union. . . .a foundation work central to any thorough understanding of U.S. foreign relations today."
The Midwest Book Review, March 2007

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