It is currently fashionable to predict a decline in the United States' power. But the United States is not in absolute decline.

To meet the range of challenges facing the United States and the world, Washington will have to strengthen and amplify its civilian power abroad.

A number of prominent figures -- political scientists, public intellectuals, politicians, historians, journalists, policymakers -- recommend books that shed light on some aspect of the world ahead.

The bold visions of Francis Fukuyama, Samuel Huntington, and John Mearsheimer, however powerful, do not hold up as reliable predictors of particular developments.

David Remnick's The Bridge delivers fresh insights about Barack Obama's personal and political odyssey -- particularly when it comes to understanding the degree to which Obama is a product of New England's commitment to social and global reform.

The era in which U.S. foreign policy could be driven in counterproductive directions by an excess of power is in the process of ending.

During his first year in office, U.S. President Barack Obama made engagement with U.S. adversaries one of his administration's priorities.

As the Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo argues, the concept of foreign aid is flawed -- not just because corrupt dictators divert aid for nefarious or selfish purposes but also because even in reasonably democratic countries, aid creates perverse incentives and unintended consequences.

Barack Obama's foreign policy has generated more expectations than strategic breakthroughs.

Since the United States first became a global superpower, it has been fashionable to speak of its decline.

George Herring's well-written and lively book may turn out to be one of the last attempts by a leading scholar to compress a comprehensive and comprehensible account of the United States' foreign relations into a single volume.

July/August 2009 Pre-Release: Iran's foreign policy is often portrayed in sensationalistic terms, but in reality it is a rational strategy meant to ensure the survival of the Islamic Republic against what Tehran thinks is an existential threat posed by the United States.

One of the most important figures in Obama's administration will be his national security adviser. An examination of past advisers shows how to get the job right—or wrong.

If it hopes to achieve its foreign policy agenda, the Obama administration will need to undo the damage to the Foreign Service wrought by the Bush administration.

To avoid some of the mistakes from past Israeli-Palestinian peace processes, the Obama administration should consult Martin Indyk's insider account.

The next U.S. foreign affairs agenda needs to be more imaginative in considering what the United States will value tomorrow.

To be successful in the Middle East, the Obama administration will need to move beyond Iraq, find ways to deal constructively with Iran, and forge a final-status Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

A league of democracies would not secure cooperation among democracies and would expose the limits of the West's power and legitimacy. The next president should not embrace this disastrous idea.

The next administration must learn from Bush's mistakes, but should not shy away from using U.S. power to promote American values.

The next U.S. president will face a more difficult opening-day set of global problems than any of his predecessors since World War II.