Why America Can't Retrench

And How it Might

Peter Harris

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Hardback

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English

Polity Press
06 September 2024

Politics & government

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.

By: Peter Harris
Imprint: Polity Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 218mm, Width: 145mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 454g
ISBN: 9781509562091
ISBN 10: 1509562095
Pages: 272
Publication Date: 06 September 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgements Dedication Introduction 1 Waves of Expansion, 1857–present 2 The Restraint Debate 3 Making the Militarist State 4 America’s Primacists 5 Unfit for Peace 6 Domestic Renewal 7 Internationalism Anew Notes

Peter Harris is Associate Professor of Political Science at Colorado State University, where his teaching and research focus on international security and US foreign policy. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow with Defense Priorities.

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

"""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"