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Why America Can't Retrench (And How it Might) - Peter Harris

Why America Can't Retrench (And How it Might)

By: Peter Harris

Paperback | 6 January 2024

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Even as growing polarization and hyper-partisanship define society and politics at home, American leaders seem to agree on one thing: US military dominance abroad is essential for national security and international stability. This is despite an upswing in popular support for “doing less” overseas.

What explains Washington’s blinkered view of its foreign policy options? Why is the pursuit of military primacy so deeply entrenched in America that alternative approaches have become unthinkable?

The answer, argues Peter Harris, can be found at the level of domestic politics. The modern US state was built during World War II and the Cold War to support a globe-spanning and long-term effort to project military power abroad. This domestic order is hardwired to reject foreign policies of restraint or retrenchment. If the United States is ever to assume a more normal world role, it must first undergo a period of domestic reform, renewal, and realignment. This book explains what these domestic changes might look like – and how a grand strategy of restraint can be implemented from the inside out.

Industry Reviews
“Why is it so hard to restrain American military commitments abroad? Harris offers an incisive explanation of how militarism became entrenched in the American state and shows how rethinking U.S. foreign policy can simultaneously renew American society.”
Benjamin Coates, Wake Forest University

“In this timely, thought-provoking analysis, Peter Harris makes a powerful case for greater transparency, openness, and pluralism in US foreign policymaking. Proponents of American ‘primacy’ and ‘restraint’ alike will benefit from his diagnosis of what’s gone wrong and how to correct it.”
Peter Trubowitz, London School of Economics and Political Science

“A manifesto for a twenty-first-century US foreign policy. Peter Harris makes a clear and compelling case that global military primacy is a losing grand strategy for the United States, both abroad and at home. More than that, he points the way toward a post-primacy revival of American internationalism and identifies the domestic reforms needed to get there. Essential reading.”
Stephen???? Wertheim, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

“essential reading”
Responsible Statecraft

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