Rethinking American Grand Strategy

Elizabeth Borgwardt, Associate Professor of History and Law, Washington University in St. Louis, Christopher McKnight Nichols, Director of the Center for the Humanities and Associate Professor of History, Oregon State University, Andrew Preston, Professor of American History, University of Cambridge.

Elizabeth Borgwardt is an associate professor of history and law at Washington University in St. Louis and the author of A New Deal for the World: America's Vision for Human Rights.

Christopher McKnight Nichols is Director of the Center for the Humanities and Associate Professor of History at Oregon State University and the author of Promise and Peril: America at the Dawn of a Global Age.

Andrew Preston is Professor of American History at the University of Cambridge and the author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and Diplomacy and American Foreign Relations: A Very Short Introduction (OUP, 2019), among other books.

Elizabeth Borgwardt, Washington University in St. Louis
Christopher McKnight Nichols, Oregon State University
Andrew Preston, Cambridge University

Elizabeth H. Bradley, Vassar College
Hal Brands, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University
Laura Briggs, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Emily Conroy-Krutz, Michigan State University
Mary L. Dudziak, Emory University
Charles Edel, United States Studies Centre, University of Sydney
Jeffrey A. Engel, Southern Methodist University
Katherine C. Epstein, Rutgers University-Camden
Beverly Gage, Yale University
David Greenberg, Rutgers University-New Brunswick
Michaela Hoenicke Moore, University of Iowa
William Inboden, University of Texas at Austin
Julia F. Irwin, University of South Florida
Ryan Irwin, University of Albany
Matthew Karp, Princeton University
Adriane Lentz-Smith, Duke University
Fredrik Logevall, Harvard University
David Milne, University of East Anglia
Lauren A. Taylor
Daniel Tichenor, University of Oregon

"The contributors seek to interject voices that have far too long been absent from the traditional conception of grand strategy as the sole province of presidents and diplomats. The noteworthy result is a valuable reformulation of grand strategy from merely statecraft to human relations in a globalized world in three critical dimensions, considering what grand strategy is, who influences it, and how to study it. The volume comprises a beneficial introduction and 22 exceptional chapters....All the chapters are well written and cogently argued, presenting a vast array of novel perspectives. This exceptional volume is an indispensable contribution to a more comprehensive discernment of American grand strategy that accounts for culture and incorporates original interpretations on this essential subject. Summing Up: Essential. General readers, advanced undergraduates through faculty, professionals." -- Choice

"While the volume invites researchers and historians to revisit colorful American characters and grand American ideas, it does not inundate the readers with terminology or language that undermine the appeal of the book to casual observers of American history....This book should be welcomed at any institutional, public, or home library....Aspiring military leaders should avail themselves of the opportunities that this book has to explore, such as vital military operations other than war." -- Mark S. Cogan, Journal of Indo-Pacific Affairs

"Rethinking American Grand Strategy was thought provoking and enjoyable to read." -- S.C.M. Paine, War in History

"This fascinating and carefully organized anthology examines U.S. grand strategy from the Federalists to the present and strategists from W.E. B. du Bois to George H.W. Bush, from angles ranging from diplomacy to race....Thought provoking and enjoyable to read, a volume that invites further research." -- S. C.M. Paine, War in History

"This volume... is a valuable contribution to the task of broadly rethinking the goals and tactics of U.S. foreign policy. The analyses it presents aresolidly rooted in history and provide thought-provoking insights into issues and actors that grand strategists rarely consider." -- Jessica T. Mathews

"'Grand strategy' is a term that is as difficult to define as it is widely used by scholars and practitioners. This volume's editors and contributors believe that the concept needs to be reconceived....It should be broadened beyond its roots in military affairs and conventionally defined security to include a variety of additional issues, such as immigration, public health, demographics, international assistance, and climate change. It also needs to reach beyond its traditional focus on the state as the only important player to include other influential voices and actors....This volume...is a valuable contribution to the task of broadly rethinking the goals and tactics of U.S. foreign policy. The analyses it presents are solidly rooted in history and provide thought-provoking insights into issues and actors that grand strategists rarely consider" -- Jessica T. Mathews, Foreign Affairs

"This is, overall, a fantastic book. It's incredibly thought provoking and well researched. I appreciated that it challenged the current ways of thinking of Grand Strategy, and questioned the approaches taken by leaders throughout American history...This book would be a great read for a student of American History, Government, or Political Science, and I believe it offers a unique perspective to anyone looking to understand the use of Grand Strategy over the past two centuries." -- Kyra Young, Corvallis Advocate

"I have never seen the words 'grand strategy' and 'global health' in the same sentence, much less an exploration of race and grand strategy. Rethinking Grand Strategy is not what you likely expect, and is far better for it. It is a genuine step toward changing what we think about when we think about grand strategy and who does the thinking." -- Anne-Marie Slaughter, Professor Emerita, Princeton University

"This is a terrific collection on the highs and lows of US grand strategy and the debate over its significance. Giving ample room for dissenting voices, the volume reaffirms the necessity of strategic thinking for producing favorable outcomes on issues ranging from national security to reproductive politics." -- O.A. Westad, Yale University