The End of Alliances

Reviews / Votes

"Rajan Menon's book is indispensable reading for anyone interested in understanding America's position in the world in the decades to come."--Hendrik Spruyt, Norman Dwight Harris Professor of International Relations, Northwestern University "In this book, Rajan Menon has accomplished something that many people call for but almost no one actually does. He has thought originally, from the bottom up, about how the United States should conduct its foreign policy--and proposes a major shift in the way America spends money, makes promises, and commits troops. A change like the one he outlines is coming sooner or later, and it will turn out better for America and the world if his argument gets the attention it deserves."--James Fallows, national correspondent of The Atlantic Monthly and author of Blind into Baghdad "In this powerfully argued and elegantly written book, Rajan Menon makes the case that the American foreign policy of the future will differ dramatically, and in ways not yet fully appreciated, from the international role of the United States to which the world, and Americans, became accustomed in the second half of the twentieth century. The End of Alliances will be widely discussed and debated both in the United States and in the rest of the world."--Michael Mandelbaum, author of The Case for Goliath: How America Acts as the World's Government in the Twenty-first Century "Menon makes a compelling case that Washington's foreign policy is at a critical juncture: if the United States alters its policy with a maximum of speed and grace, it can preserve--even strengthen--its political and economic relationships with long-standing allies; if American leaders stubbornly attempt to preserve obsolete security arrangements, they risk permanently damaging those important relationships. This is an important book on U.S. foreign policy in the twenty-first century."--Ted Galen Carpenter, Vice President, Defense and Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute "With elegance and wisdom, Rajan Menon shows why America's Cold War alliances make little sense, and why they need to be jettisoned in order to deal more effectively with the fundamental realities of the contemporary world. Whether one agrees or disagrees, this book both illuminates and stimulates. The End of Alliances is an outstanding contribution to the ongoing debate about America's role in the world."--Melvyn P. Leffler, Stettinius Professor of American History, University of Virginia "Menon shows that the role of traditional alliances is fated to diminish even if America shifts to a more restrained global stance. Menon's astute analysis is a warning against relying on these allies to be the linchpin of a new, post-Bush foreign policy."--Jack Snyder, Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Relations, Columbia University