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| Interviewees: | James M. Goldgeier, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Derek H. Chollet, Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security | |
| Interviewer: | Robert McMahon, Deputy Editor, CFR.org |
June 12, 2008
The 9/11 terror attacks are viewed as a seminal event that set in motion abrupt changes to U.S. foreign policy. But a new book asserts that 11/9—the date the Berlin Wall fell in 1989—has even more significance in challenging U.S. policymaking to this day. In their book America Between the Wars, From 11/9 to 9/11, CFR senior fellow James Goldgeier and Derek Chollet, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, describe the 1990s as a defining moment for foreign policy. They also note that after a long period of bipartisan agreement on the Cold War policy of containment, the 1990s were marked by some confusion as experts struggled to come up with a new doctrine to deal with a changing world.
The Clinton administration eventually coalesced around core principles featuring embrace of trade and globalization, democracy promotion, and the use of military force, the authors say. Opposition Republicans, meanwhile, splintered after the collapse of communism over how America's role in the world should be redefined. Goldgeier and Chollet say these are legacies that both presidential frontrunners are dealing with today as they seek to shore up supporters in their parties and prepare new administrations that would take office in January 2009. Their advice after chronicling rocky intra-party transitions in 1993 and 2001: start preparing now.
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In The Closing of the American Border, Edward Alden goes behind the scenes to tell the story of the Bush administration’s struggle to balance security and openness in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In Termites in the Trading System, Jagdish Bhagwati reveals how the rapid spread of preferential trade agreements endangers the world trading system.
America Between the Wars explores how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
Complete list of CFR Books.
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