Editorial Reviews

"Empirical diplomatic history and theory at its best. This masterful, rigorous scholarship takes a long-term perspective, informed by rich case studies, to challenge in a pathbreaking interpretation many conventional wisdoms about the wellsprings of American foreign policy. Clear yet sophisticated at the same time - a rare combination. Must reading for future research."
Charles W. Kegley, Distinguished Pearce Professor of International Relations Emeritus at the University of South Carolina, USA; Vice Chair of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, and President of the International Studies Association 1993-1994

"In this lucid, erudite, penetrating book, David Sylvan and Stephen Majeski turn standard analyses of U.S. foreign policy upside down. The tale they tell is one of means shaping ends, of instruments driving policies, of bureaucracies creating rather than serving national interests.Sylvan and Majeskis cybernetic account of U.S. foreign policy is shockingly compelling - conceptually sound and empirically rich. This book is a must-read for any serious student of U.S. foreign policy."
David A. Welch, Professor of Political Science, Director, Trudeau Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Toronto, Canada

"Sylvan and Majeski flip a Gestalt switch to illuminate the continuity of US foreign policy. They consider it the product not of some conjectured grand strategy, but of the policy instruments available to policymakers. By examining US foreign policy from its actual means, not its putative ends, Sylvan and Majeski produce a fresh and compelling account that amounts to a more nuanced understanding of the inner workings of imperial politics after colonialism."
Gavan Duffy, Syracuse University, USA