The silence of the rational center : why American foreign policy is failing

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Title:

Author:

Halper, Stefan A.

ISBN:

9780465011414

Personal Author:

Halper, Stefan A.

Publication Information:

New York : Basic Books, c2007.

Physical Description:

vii, 312 p. : ill., facsims. ; 24 cm.

Contents:

1. The big idea in history -- 2. Three institutional failures -- 3. Cable news : accelerating the big idea -- 4. Think tanks -- 5. An unreliable elite -- 6. Elites and the use of force -- 7. Insurgency -- 8. The intelligence dilemma -- 9. The acid test -- 10. A return to rationality.

Abstract:

"What has happened to American foreign policy? Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke argue that the members of what used to be called the foreign policy establishment are no longer doing the job of keeping our foreign policy informed and rational. Instead, hungry to coin the next Big Idea, they are in the business of advancing simplistic, glib mythologies. The result is that Americans are often presented with a fantasy world of nightmare scenarios rather than with explanations that lead to rational choices. Taking to task such well-known figures as Samuel Huntington, Noam Chomsky, and Jeffrey Sachs, Halper and Clarke argue for a revival of integrity within our foreign policy elite so that America's standing in the world can be restored. A book that pulls no punches, The Silence of the Rational Center is both a penetrating diagnosis and a stirring call to reform in what is possibly the most important area of American political life."--BOOK JACKET.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Foreign relations -- 2001-

Added Author:

Clarke, Jonathan, 1947-

Electronic Access:

Table of contents only http://www.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip074/2006032291.html

Copies:

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Copy	Status
Searching... 1:IIEMSA	1:GEN-BOOK	33168025409927	327.73 H195S 2007	1	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

What has happened to American foreign policy? Stefan Halper and Jonathan Clarke argue that the members of what used to be called the foreign policy establishment are no longer doing the job of keeping our foreign policy informed and rational. Instead, hungry to coin the next Big Idea, they are in the business of advancing simplistic, glib mythologies. The result is that Americans are often presented with a fantasy world of nightmare scenarios rather than with explanations that lead to rational choices. Taking to task such well-known figures as Samuel Huntington, Noam Chomsky, and Jeffrey Sachs, Halper and Clarke argue for a revival of integrity within our foreign policy elite so that America's standing in the world can be restored. A book that pulls no punches, The Silence of the Rational Center is both a penetrating diagnosis and a stirring call to reform in what is possibly the most important area of American political life.