Book Search:  

 

 
Google full text of our books:

bookjacket

Containment:
Rebuilding a Strategy against Global Terror
Ian Shapiro

Paper | 2008 | $19.95 / £13.95 | ISBN: 9780691137070
208 pp. | 5 x 8

eBook | ISBN: 9781400827565 | Where to buy this ebook

Shopping Cart | Reviews | Table of Contents
Chapter 1 [HTML] or [PDF]
A Q&A with author Ian Shapiro

Google full text of this book:
 

Read author interview at Al-Ahram Weekly On-Line

In this powerfully argued book, Ian Shapiro shows that the idea of containment offers the best hope for protecting Americans and their democracy into the future. His bold vision for American security in the post-September 11 world is reminiscent of George Kennan's historic "Long Telegram," in which the containment strategy that won the Cold War was first developed.

The Bush Doctrine of preemptive war and unilateral action has been marked by incompetence--missed opportunities to capture Osama bin Laden, failures of postwar planning for Iraq, and lack of an exit strategy. But Shapiro contends that the problems run deeper. He explains how the Bush Doctrine departs from the best traditions of American national-security policy and accepted international norms, and renders Americans and democratic values less safe. He debunks the belief that containment is obsolete. Terror networks might be elusive, but the enabling states that make them dangerous can be contained. Shapiro defends containment against charges of appeasement, arguing that force against a direct threat will be needed. He outlines new approaches to intelligence, finance, allies, diplomacy, and international institutions. He explains why containment is the best alternative to a misguided agenda that naively assumes democratic regime change is possible from the barrel of an American gun.

President Bush has defined the War on Terror as the decisive ideological struggle of our time. Shapiro shows what a self-defeating mistake that is. He sets out a viable alternative that offers real security to Americans, reclaims America's international stature, and promotes democracy around the world.

Review:

"Had President Bush adopted Shapiro's approach on Sept. 12, 2001, it is quite likely that he would have had more success in marginalizing adversaries."--Samantha Power, New York Times Book Review

"The Bush administration's post-9/11 national security strategy has come in for tremendous criticism, but opponents have had difficulty articulating a coherent alternative. Here is one. Shapiro . . . offers a brilliant sketch of a new strategic vision that draws on Cold War-era containment ideas."--G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs

"It's to be hoped that Shapiro is not done--his ideas here deserve extended discussion. And as the post-Bush world starts to take form, there will be a continued need for creative thinking and the rediscovery of intellectual resources we have unwisely abandoned."--Aziz Huq, American Prospect

"Shapiro makes a convincing case that so-called rogue states like North Korea and Iran can be deterred and contained even if they develop nuclear weapons."--Joseph S. Nye, Jr., Chronicle of Higher Education

"Americans who want more than garage logic and uninformed rhetoric should read [this] book. Bush administration officials should read [this] book."--Roger Buoen, Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Containment is both a forceful critique of current foreign policy and a prescriptive response to it. . . . Shapiro offers a series of complicated and detailed strategies to confront global terror, including greater investment in human intelligence to methodically track and stop weapons proliferation, and to his credit, he avoids oversimplification and instead offers thorough analyses of individual situations. . . . If only such a clear and thorough analysis existed before the last election."--Joshua J. Kearney, The Harvard Crimson

More reviews

Table of Contents:

Preface ix
Chapter 1: The Idea Vacuum 1
Chapter 2: End of the Criminal Justice Consensus 10
Chapter 3: Filling the Vacuum 15
Chapter 4: Containment for Democracy 32
Chapter 5: Containment's Realism 54
Chapter 6: Democracy for Containment 102
Chapter 7: Our Present Peril 119
Acknowledgments 135
Notes 137
Index 179

Other Princeton books authored or coauthored by Ian Shapiro:

Link:

Subject Areas:

Shopping Cart:

For customers in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, Asia, and Australia

Paper: $19.95 ISBN: 9780691137070

For customers in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and India

Paper: £13.95 ISBN: 9780691137070

Our eBook editions are available
from these online vendors:

  • Amazon Kindle Store
  • Barnes & Noble Nook Store
  • Google Play eBook Store
  • Kno eBook Store
  • Kobo eBook Store
  • Sony Reader eBook Store
  • Many of our ebooks are available to
    students & scholars through their libraries:

  • Books at JSTOR
  • Ebrary
  • Ebook Library
  • EBSCO Ebooks
  • MyiLibrary
  • Dawsonera (UK)

  • Prices subject to change without notice

    File created: 5/2/2013

    Questions and comments to: webmaster@press.princeton.edu
    Princeton University Press

    New Book E-mails
    New In Print
    PUP Blog
    Videos/Audios
    Sample Chapters
    Subjects
    Series
    Catalogs
    eBooks
    Textbooks
    For Reviewers
    Class Use
    Rights
    Permissions
    Online Ordering
    Recent Awards
    Princeton Shorts
    Freshman Reading
    Princeton APPS
    PUP Europe
    About Us
    Contact Us
    Links
    F.A.Q.
    PUP Home


    Bookmark and Share
    Send me emails
    about new books in:
    Political Science and International Relations
    Political Philosophy
    Law
    More Choices
    Email:
    Country:
    Name: