Sunday, August 07, 2016

Book review of Barry Posen's 'Restraint'

Along with Steven Kiel (GMFUS) I reviewed Barry Posen's book 'Restraint' for International Politics Review. Specifically we discussed what a policy of US restraint (as Posen argues for) would mean for NATO. 

What would a US policy of ‘restraint’ mean for the Warsaw NATO Summit (http://link.springer.com/article/10.1057/ipr.2016.9)


Abstract: This review discusses how a decision by the United States to pursue the policy recommended by Barry Posen in his book ‘Restraint’ would play out in the NATO alliance. The review does so by examining what ‘restraint’ would mean for how the alliance faces the problems of European divisions (including a potential Brexit and unravelling or fragmentation of the European Union), continued low levels of European defence spending, European perceptions of US indifference, high-handedness and isolationist attitudes in its presidential race, the spectre of Russian aggression and involvement in the Middle East, and ongoing debates about the alliance’s purpose in the face of challenges ranging from traditional military threats through to the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean.


KeywordsNATO restraint transatlantic relations Europe USA defence. 


(International Politics Reviews (2016) 4, 31–35)