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The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy: Weak Power, Great Power, Superpower, Hyperpower
A new and unique framework for understanding the history of the foreign policy of the United States.
The United States is now nearly 250 years old. It arose from humble beginnings, as a strip of mostly agrarian and sparsely populated English colonies on the northeastern edge of the New World, far removed from the centers of power in Europe. Today, it is the world's most powerful country, with its largest economy and most powerful military. How did America achieve this status?
In The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy , Michael Mandelbaum offers a new framework for understanding the evolution of the foreign policy of the United States. He divides that evolution into four distinct periods, with each defined by the consistent increase in American power relative to other countries. His history of the four periods features engaging accounts of the major events and important personalities in the foreign policy of each era. Throughout, Mandelbaum highlights fundamental continuities in the goals of American foreign policy and in the way that policy was adopted and implemented. He portrays the United States, in its ascent, first as a weak power, from 1765 to 1865, then as a great power between 1865 and 1945, next as a superpower in the years 1945 to 1990, and finally as the world's sole hyperpower, from 1990 to 2015. He also presents three features of American foreign policy that are found in every first, the goal of disseminating the political ideas
Americans have embraced from the first; second, the use of economic instruments in pursuit of the country's foreign policy goals; and third, a process for formulating policy and implementing decisions shaped by considerable popular influence. American foreign policy, as he puts it, has been unusually ideological, unusually economic, and unusually democratic.
A sweeping and elegantly written history, The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy will reshape our understanding of how the United States became the most powerful nation the world has ever seen.
The United States is now nearly 250 years old. It arose from humble beginnings, as a strip of mostly agrarian and sparsely populated English colonies on the northeastern edge of the New World, far removed from the centers of power in Europe. Today, it is the world's most powerful country, with its largest economy and most powerful military. How did America achieve this status?
In The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy , Michael Mandelbaum offers a new framework for understanding the evolution of the foreign policy of the United States. He divides that evolution into four distinct periods, with each defined by the consistent increase in American power relative to other countries. His history of the four periods features engaging accounts of the major events and important personalities in the foreign policy of each era. Throughout, Mandelbaum highlights fundamental continuities in the goals of American foreign policy and in the way that policy was adopted and implemented. He portrays the United States, in its ascent, first as a weak power, from 1765 to 1865, then as a great power between 1865 and 1945, next as a superpower in the years 1945 to 1990, and finally as the world's sole hyperpower, from 1990 to 2015. He also presents three features of American foreign policy that are found in every first, the goal of disseminating the political ideas
Americans have embraced from the first; second, the use of economic instruments in pursuit of the country's foreign policy goals; and third, a process for formulating policy and implementing decisions shaped by considerable popular influence. American foreign policy, as he puts it, has been unusually ideological, unusually economic, and unusually democratic.
A sweeping and elegantly written history, The Four Ages of American Foreign Policy will reshape our understanding of how the United States became the most powerful nation the world has ever seen.
624 pages, Hardcover
Published June 1, 2022
77 people are currently reading
427 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 27, 2025
DNFing this after finishing the first part. I was excited to start this book given we are arguably entering the fifth age of American foreign policy now (how I feel about that is beyond the scope of what I’m going to write here, but you can probably deduce that from what I’ll say).
First of all, it’s quite boring. The text is dull. It’s written for someone who has maybe a high school level understanding of US history, but the author is a professor emeritus at SAIS so I was expecting a little more. The first part was an overview of US foreign policy history from the Revolution to Civil War. It really reads as an overview and the author doesn’t really engage with the history other than to argue the US was a weak power at this time. Not exactly a groundbreaking assertion.
I started to take issue with the author’s glossing over of some of the more difficult aspects of our history during this time, (e.g. slavery, indigenous genocide, war with Mexico). None of these topics are examined critically or from a moral lens in any significant matter. At one point, he has a footnote with Ulysses S. Grant decrying the Mexican War as the most unjust in US history. Again the author doesn’t explore why such a major figure in US history would say something other than the US was more powerful than Mexico, ok… thanks Professor. There are many angles he could explore that quote from, whether it be the widespread war crimes committed by the US, the unfair annexation treaty, the fabricated pretenses the war was started on, racism towards Black soldiers at the time, the press gangs that forced Irish immigrants to fight, and so on. Asking which of these issues would Grant spoken out about would have been a more interesting way to engage with the subject matter.
He also made a few other highly problematic claims throughout the first section of this book, including that whether Bush lied about WMD in Iraq is up for debate (it’s not, he did). The most egregious take may have been that America “…deliberately refrained from annexing territory inhabited by people who were not white Protestants” in the first half of the 19th century. That was pretty shocking to read but maybe I should have been prepared to hear it coming from a guy who referred to indigenous people as Indians in a book published in 2022.
Speaking of this book being published in 2022, I found the publication date after the author made a claim that the US has always had a peaceful transfer of power when the incoming President is of different party than the one leaving office. The editors had at least a year to catch that one…
If anyone has a similar book to suggest that isn’t hot garbage please let me know. The only redeeming quality of this book is that was an interesting premise but the author fully fumbled the bag here.
First of all, it’s quite boring. The text is dull. It’s written for someone who has maybe a high school level understanding of US history, but the author is a professor emeritus at SAIS so I was expecting a little more. The first part was an overview of US foreign policy history from the Revolution to Civil War. It really reads as an overview and the author doesn’t really engage with the history other than to argue the US was a weak power at this time. Not exactly a groundbreaking assertion.
I started to take issue with the author’s glossing over of some of the more difficult aspects of our history during this time, (e.g. slavery, indigenous genocide, war with Mexico). None of these topics are examined critically or from a moral lens in any significant matter. At one point, he has a footnote with Ulysses S. Grant decrying the Mexican War as the most unjust in US history. Again the author doesn’t explore why such a major figure in US history would say something other than the US was more powerful than Mexico, ok… thanks Professor. There are many angles he could explore that quote from, whether it be the widespread war crimes committed by the US, the unfair annexation treaty, the fabricated pretenses the war was started on, racism towards Black soldiers at the time, the press gangs that forced Irish immigrants to fight, and so on. Asking which of these issues would Grant spoken out about would have been a more interesting way to engage with the subject matter.
He also made a few other highly problematic claims throughout the first section of this book, including that whether Bush lied about WMD in Iraq is up for debate (it’s not, he did). The most egregious take may have been that America “…deliberately refrained from annexing territory inhabited by people who were not white Protestants” in the first half of the 19th century. That was pretty shocking to read but maybe I should have been prepared to hear it coming from a guy who referred to indigenous people as Indians in a book published in 2022.
Speaking of this book being published in 2022, I found the publication date after the author made a claim that the US has always had a peaceful transfer of power when the incoming President is of different party than the one leaving office. The editors had at least a year to catch that one…
If anyone has a similar book to suggest that isn’t hot garbage please let me know. The only redeeming quality of this book is that was an interesting premise but the author fully fumbled the bag here.
November 9, 2022
I was pleased with this book. Several things stood out as positive attributes.
First, it is a very clear historical synopsis of the United States. Easy to read and way better than the dribble we had to read in our public-school history courses! While the focus is on international relations key domestic events and their interplay are included. For me the first two stages were the most interesting I think primarily because my familiarity of history through the Civil War lacks more recent events.
The reader gets a great summary of most administration policies with more in-depth coverage of those presidents that lead the US into war. Here the conciseness of Mandelbaum’s writing makes it a better read than Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times which focuses on the motivational aspects of the administration.
Lastly, it provides insight into the arcane dynamics of foreign policy. Especially for those of us with only a casual interest or understanding of policy decisions.
What was my biggest takeaway? Mandelbaum asserts that the decision to add Central European and former Soviet states into NATO by the Clinton administration set the foundation for Russian distrust of the west gave Putin a rallying cry he used domestically to foment anger and provide the impetus to invade Ukraine both in 2014 and 2022.
Mandelbaum ends the book rather quickly with a short chapter on an emerging fifth age with the ascent of China combined with Russia’s antagonistic position vis-à-vis the US combined with US policy failures in the post-Cold War.
A good read but not riveting, four stars.
First, it is a very clear historical synopsis of the United States. Easy to read and way better than the dribble we had to read in our public-school history courses! While the focus is on international relations key domestic events and their interplay are included. For me the first two stages were the most interesting I think primarily because my familiarity of history through the Civil War lacks more recent events.
The reader gets a great summary of most administration policies with more in-depth coverage of those presidents that lead the US into war. Here the conciseness of Mandelbaum’s writing makes it a better read than Presidents of War: The Epic Story, from 1807 to Modern Times which focuses on the motivational aspects of the administration.
Lastly, it provides insight into the arcane dynamics of foreign policy. Especially for those of us with only a casual interest or understanding of policy decisions.
What was my biggest takeaway? Mandelbaum asserts that the decision to add Central European and former Soviet states into NATO by the Clinton administration set the foundation for Russian distrust of the west gave Putin a rallying cry he used domestically to foment anger and provide the impetus to invade Ukraine both in 2014 and 2022.
Mandelbaum ends the book rather quickly with a short chapter on an emerging fifth age with the ascent of China combined with Russia’s antagonistic position vis-à-vis the US combined with US policy failures in the post-Cold War.
A good read but not riveting, four stars.
September 14, 2022
A comprehensive, and frequently insightful view, of the means, methods, and goals of American foreign policy from the fledgling republic's proclamation of neutrality to the self-inflicted erosion of the world's post-Cold War hyperpower in the face of a rising China and a bellicose Russia.
August 23, 2024
In this book, the author outlines four distinct eras of American foreign policy. The first era, which he terms "Weak Power," encompasses the period during which Americans secured their independence from Britain. By leveraging effective political tools such as sanctions, the United States not only gained independence but also expanded its territory and experienced significant economic growth, particularly following the Industrial Revolution.
The second era, referred to as "Great Power," began with World War I. During this time, the United States joined forces with other nations to defeat Germany twice and Japan once. Additionally, the country navigated the Great Depression with minimal damage compared to the rest of the world.
The third era, labeled "Superpower," emerged after World War II. In this stage, the United States successfully contained the Soviet Union and used both economic and military strategies to contribute to its eventual collapse.
However, the fourth era, which the author calls "Hyperpower," saw a decline in American success. The author argues that this decline was due in part to the expansion of NATO, which alienated Russia after the Cold War—a situation that might have been avoidable. Furthermore, the U.S. withdrew from the Middle East with the belief that liberal values would prevail on their own, a stance that the author attributes to overconfidence. The book highlights that the post-Cold War era, particularly under President Clinton, saw a belief that globalization would promote economic growth, which in turn would foster democratic governance and peaceful foreign policies. While the 20th century provided some support for these assumptions, the experiences of post-Cold War Russia and China did not align with these expectations.
The book is an engaging read, particularly because it offers a detailed overview of U.S. history beginning in 1765, highlighting the strategies the Founding Fathers used to shape the country's foreign policy framework. However, the author occasionally provides overly simplistic explanations for the actions and decisions of various U.S. administrations, which I believe may have been influenced by more complex considerations beyond just tactical choices.
The second era, referred to as "Great Power," began with World War I. During this time, the United States joined forces with other nations to defeat Germany twice and Japan once. Additionally, the country navigated the Great Depression with minimal damage compared to the rest of the world.
The third era, labeled "Superpower," emerged after World War II. In this stage, the United States successfully contained the Soviet Union and used both economic and military strategies to contribute to its eventual collapse.
However, the fourth era, which the author calls "Hyperpower," saw a decline in American success. The author argues that this decline was due in part to the expansion of NATO, which alienated Russia after the Cold War—a situation that might have been avoidable. Furthermore, the U.S. withdrew from the Middle East with the belief that liberal values would prevail on their own, a stance that the author attributes to overconfidence. The book highlights that the post-Cold War era, particularly under President Clinton, saw a belief that globalization would promote economic growth, which in turn would foster democratic governance and peaceful foreign policies. While the 20th century provided some support for these assumptions, the experiences of post-Cold War Russia and China did not align with these expectations.
The book is an engaging read, particularly because it offers a detailed overview of U.S. history beginning in 1765, highlighting the strategies the Founding Fathers used to shape the country's foreign policy framework. However, the author occasionally provides overly simplistic explanations for the actions and decisions of various U.S. administrations, which I believe may have been influenced by more complex considerations beyond just tactical choices.
July 31, 2022
A book only a history nerd would like! Mandelbaum convincingly divides American foreign policy from the country's inception to present day into four ages -- weak power (independence to Civil War), Great Power (Civil War to the end of WWII), Superpower (Cold War to fall of Soviet Union), Hyperpower (post Soviet to today) and highlights that, unlike most other countries, US foreign policy is consistently based on ideology (democracy/civil liberties), economics (trade/investments) and the strong role that public opinion plays (Remember the Maine!/Vietnam War protests). So I did enjoy the tour through the last 250 years of US foreign policy. Unsettling is this fourth age -- hyper power -- as the US seems to be floundering to find its role and purpose in a post-Soviet world, compounded by the war against ideology (= terror) in a post September 11th world and not against a place or a people Could have used a better editor to shorten the book and eliminate a lot of the repetition....and repetition of Mandelbaum's thesis on almost every page. Narrow audience appeal, but for those who like this kind of book, it's worthwhile.
June 17, 2025
Mandelbaum is Professor of American Foreign Policy at Johns Hopkins. Here he gives a fascinating overview of US history through the lens of foreign policy; how we reacted to or drove events around the world based on our level of “power” at the time. I would encourage my fellow history majors to read this. It really is a comprehensive and fascinating analysis from an expert in the field. That being said, Mandelbaum is a nationalist, a bit of a hawk, and most definitely an Israeli apologist, so some of what he says - or doesn’t say - comes through those filters, and I would love to hear others’ thoughts on all that.
October 2, 2024
A basic history of the US, really, dressed up as a foreign policy tract. The author is also an apologist for nationalism - claiming that people living in California were better off once the US annexed that province, for example, or minimizing the impact and significance of slavery on American history.
December 30, 2023
Highly recommended by a good friend. I listened to the audio version over several months while driving at various times. Some parts were riveting and others not so much. I will most likely want to read the old fashioned book version at some point with a highlighter in hand.
November 3, 2024
An excellent overview of American foreign policy from the colonial era through the end of the Obama administration (with awareness of facts of Trump and Biden administrations but not analyzing them). Reading this was like taking a graduate course.
December 8, 2022
Historical timeline with loose framework
Interesting but not as compelling as I had hoped. More attention to period from post WW2 to present would have helped.
Interesting but not as compelling as I had hoped. More attention to period from post WW2 to present would have helped.
June 12, 2024
Really a fantastic book covering a broad range of foreign policy over America’s 250 year history. Really well written and for me at just the right level of depth.
May 21, 2025
I read this to fill some major knowledge gaps, and felt it did the job admirably.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews