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We Became the Late 18th Century British. What Now?
Responsible Statecraft ·
On America’s 250th anniversary, a look at the parallels between Britain’s imperial predicament in 1776 and America’s position today. Read the essay
Essays
Selected writing on international relations and American foreign policy, organized around five recurring themes.
Part I: The Illusions of Empire
Essays on hegemony, imperial ambition, and the tension between the pursuit of dominion abroad and the preservation of republican purposes at home.
- “Toward Universal Empire”
World Policy Journal, Fall 2002 - “A Dissenter’s Guide to Foreign Policy”
World Policy Journal, Spring 2004 - “The Flip Side of the Record”
Foreign Affairs, 2005 - “The Curious Case of American Hegemony: Imperial Aspirations and National Decline”
World Policy Journal, Summer 2005 - “Preemption, Unilateralism, Hegemony: The American Tradition?”
Orbis, Spring 2006 - “In the Mirror of Antiquity: The Problem of American Empire”
in Enduring Empire: Ancient Lessons for Global Politics, David Tabachnick and Toivo Koivukoski, eds. (University of Toronto Press, 2009) - “Making Peace with War: The National Security Complex and the American Purpose”
in American Strategy and Purpose: Reflections on Foreign Policy and National Security in an Era of Change, William H. Natter III and Jason Brooks, eds. (Council for Emerging National Security Affairs, 2014) - “Is America an Empire?”
The National Interest, 2017 - “At the End of Its Tether: U.S. Grand Strategy of Advancing Democracy”
Defense Priorities, June 30, 2022
Part II: The Costs of Intervention
The moral, constitutional, and strategic consequences of intervention, together with the traditions of international peace and legal restraint.
- “International Peace: One Hundred Years On”
Ethics & International Affairs, Summer 2013 - “The Democratic Values at Stake in Ukraine”
The National Interest, March 18, 2014 - “The Thrasybulus Syndrome: Israel’s War on Gaza”
The National Interest, July 29, 2014 - “Revolution and Intervention: A Delicate Balance, Destroyed”
The National Interest, August 28, 2014 - “How Many Cheers for the Peace Pact?”
Review of Oona Hathaway and Scott Shapiro, The Internationalists, in American Political Thought, Winter 2020 - “Punishment Won’t Cut It for Policy in Afghanistan”
The National Interest, August 19, 2022
Part III: The Trump Era and Beyond
Assessments of the competing realist, liberal, and nationalist arguments that shaped American foreign policy during and after the Trump presidency.
- “John Mearsheimer and the Future of the Damaged Liberal Dream”
The National Interest, January 10, 2019 - “Fractured: Trump’s Foreign Policy after Two Years”
H-Diplo/ISSF, January 29, 2019 - “Robert Kagan: Machiavellian in Liberal Disguise”
Raritan, Spring 2020
Part IV: Ukraine, Russia, and the New Cold War
The origins and conduct of the Ukraine war, the diplomacy that might have prevented or ended it, and the worldwide consequences of economic warfare.
- “Why Washington Has Lost Its Mind Over Ukraine”
The National Interest, February 11, 2022 - “Will Tensions in Ukraine Boil Over?”
The National Interest, February 22, 2022 - “How the West Got Russia and Ukraine Wrong”
The National Interest, February 25, 2022 - “Dark Parallels: The Ukraine War in Historical Perspective”
The American Conservative, March 2, 2022 - “The Causes of the War”
The American Conservative, March 4, 2022 - “How America Can Really Help Ukraine”
The National Interest, March 7, 2022 - “Weapons of Financial Destruction and the New World Disorder”
The American Conservative, March 9, 2022 - “We Have Yet to See the Full Economic Costs of War with Russia”
The National Interest, March 14, 2022 - “The People Will Split the Baby”
The American Conservative, March 14, 2022 - “Why This Economic War on Russia Breaks All Rules of the Game”
Responsible Statecraft, March 23, 2022 - “Sanctions Won’t Bring Down Putin, But They Will Punish the World”
The National Interest, March 25, 2022 - “The West’s Economic War Against Russia Is Imperiling the World”
The National Interest, May 3, 2022 - “Sovereignty’s Other Half: How International Law Bears on Ukraine”
Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, May 17, 2022 - “Europe’s Energy Disaster”
The American Conservative, September 13, 2022 - “No, The US Did Not Sabotage the Russia-Ukraine Peace”
The National Interest, December 12, 2023 - “Reconstructing the Istanbul Accords”
The National Interest, January 24, 2024
Part V: The Future of American Foreign Policy
Essays on restraint, diplomacy, alliances, sanctions, and the search for a sustainable American role in an increasingly plural world.
- “Dominium and Libertas Done Wrong by Imperium”
The American Conservative, March 29, 2022 - “The JCPOA: A Eulogy”
The American Conservative, March 21, 2022 - “Will Biden Turn the Sanctions Weapon on China?”
The National Interest, March 21, 2022 - “National Insecurity: America Held Hostage”
The American Conservative, May 31, 2022 - “The Grand Bargain is a Great Delusion”
The National Interest, October 8, 2023 - “Why Do We Let Israel and Ukraine Wag the US Dog?”
Responsible Statecraft, November 8, 2023 - “Endgame for Gaza”
The American Conservative, November 24, 2023 - “The Morality of Ending War Short of ‘Total Victory’”
Responsible Statecraft, December 5, 2023 - “Hawks Pushing for More Fronts in Israeli Military Operations”
Responsible Statecraft, December 13, 2023