The Godfather Doctrine - A Foreign Policy Parable

"When it comes to American statecraft, the imperative of the moment is to think anew. In that regard, John Hulsman and Wess Mitchell perform a dual service. They persuasively demonstrate just how tired the existing foreign policy debate has become. And their "Godfather Doctrine" offers an alternative that is as provocative as it is entertaining."--Andrew J. Bacevich, author of "The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism""[B]rilliant . . . full of insight and humor . . . about the debate between liberal institutionalists, neocons, and realists in foreign policy. And it's all about "The Godfather," one of the greatest political movies of all time."--Andrew Sullivan, "Atlantic Online""A brilliant, compelling analysis. The core message of this book is that America's power is in decline. I agree with the authors that many if not most of the foreign-policy elite in Washington have not really accepted this fact. "The Godfather Doctrine" causes us to think about America's dwindling superpower status in an approachable and upbeat way, and enables us to consider the different options for addressing it."--Mitchell A. Orenstein, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University"This book makes an important contribution to the ongoing debate about U.S. foreign policy post-Bush. The use of the "Godfather" analogy is very effective--it works as an entertaining and accessible vehicle for laying out important doctrinal differences and the potential consequences of our foreign-policy choices."--Jeffrey J. Anderson, Georgetown University