The Power of the Past: History and Statecraft

by Hal Brands (Editor)

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Leading scholars and policymakers explore how history influences foreign policy and offer insights on how the study of the past can more usefully serve the present. History, with its insights, analogies, and narratives, is central to the ways that the United States interacts with the world. Historians and policymakers, however, rarely engage one another as effectively or fruitfully as they might. This book bridges that divide, bringing together leading scholars and policymakers to address the essential questions surrounding the history-policy relationship including Mark Lawrence on the numerous, and often contradictory, historical lessons that American observers have drawn from the Vietnam War; H. W. Brands on the role of analogies in U.S. policy during the Persian Gulf crisis and war of 1990–91; and Jeremi Suri on Henry Kissinger's powerful use of history.
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Genres: History, Nonfiction

333 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2015

Reviews

[Matthew Rohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique look at historical theory not as an abstract truth seeking exercise, but as part of the goal directed project of foreign policy. The range of perspectives from history academia, foreign policy professionals, and several authors in between, provides and interesting and unique range of theoretical approaches, in addition to various interesting and engaging case studies covering many different topics. Definitely recommend for anyone trying to expand their knowledge of theoretical approaches to the past

[Fox Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe closer to a 4.5 but seems worthy of rounding up. Some especially good chapters stand out. In particular--HW Brands on the First Gulf War, Jennifer Miller on Japanese rearmament, James Steinberg on the Balkans, and Philip Zelikow on history's lessons.