home > by publication type > academic modules > Academic Module: America Between the Wars
Email
November 25, 2008
| Authors: | Derek H. Chollet, Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security James M. Goldgeier, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations |
|---|
This module features teaching notes by Derek H. Chollet and James M. Goldgeier, coauthors of America Between the Wars, along with other resources to supplement the text. In this CFR book, Mr. Chollet and Dr. Goldgeier explore how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the world we live in today.
What is a CFR Academic Module?
Academic Modules—featuring teaching notes by the authors of CFR publications—are designed to assist educators in creating or supplementing a course syllabus. The modules are customized packages built around a primary CFR text, such as a book or report, and include teaching notes; additional readings; video, audio, and transcripts of CFR meetings; Foreign Affairs articles; and other online resources. Use of these modules is free of charge. They may be used in part or in their entirety.
June 2008
The authors weave a compelling narrative of how the decisions and debates of the years between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Twin Towers shaped the events, arguments, and politics of the world we live in today.
CFR.org Interactives are graphics and multimedia explainers on the foreign policy, national security, and international financial issues of the day.
December 4, 2008
An interactive slideshow detailing events since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003.
CFR.org Backgrounders are succinct explanations of current political and economic issues.
November 4, 2008
The handoff of foreign policy responsibility from one U.S. presidential administration to another has proven risky in many cases. The next transition occurs at a time of extraordinary global challenges.
Updated: July 24, 2008
The United Nations has frequently cited East Timor as a model nation-building project. But new unrest in the tiny Asian state indicates that the international community has again failed to show the stamina to guide a nation toward genuine stability.
Updated: July 18, 2007
Since 9/11, much of al-Qaeda's operational capacity has been dismantled but experts say the group's strength now lies in its ability to inspire others to carry out terrorist attacks.
May 18, 2007
Public disapproval of the Iraq war is starting to create fissures among Republicans and posing challenges for Democrats seeking to balance national security and political gains .
Updated: October 31, 2006
Foreign policy is dominating U.S. political discourse for the first time in years. This backgrounder looks at the leading schools of foreign-policy thought on both sides of the political aisle.
September 2005
Council Special Report No. 9
People naturally disagree about who is responsible for the partisan tone and tactics in Washington, DC, these days, but most agree on this: It's worse, it's more intense, and it's nastier. And few on either side are enjoying it much.
September 2005
Task Force Report No. 55
This Council-sponsored, independent Task Force points out that nation-building is not just a humanitarian concern, but a critical national security priority that should be on par with war-fighting and urges the United States to equalize the importance of the two. The report argues that the United States must acknowledge that “war-fighting has two important dimensions: winning the war and winning the peace.”
June 2005
Task Force Report No. 54
A Council-sponsored Task Force argues that the United States should support the evolutionary development of democracy consistently throughout the Middle East. It points out that a strategy to promote democracy entails inherent risks, but that “the denial of freedom carries much more significant long-term dangers.” This report is also available in Arabic.
May 2005
Protecting Democracy examines how democratic states may be able to protect themselves and secure more effective international action against threats such as coups d’etat and the erosion of democratic freedoms and institutions.
February 2005
On the morning of September 11, 2001, the United States awoke to find itself at war. If that much was clear, many other things were not—including the identity and nature of the enemy, the location of the battleground, and the strategy and tactics necessary for victory.
November/December 2008
Summary
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.
September/October 2008
Summary
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.
September/October 2008
Summary
The next administration must learn from Bush's mistakes, but should not shy away from using U.S. power to promote American values.
July/August 2008
Summary
The secretary of state offers her defining take on Iraq, Iran, democracy promotion, and American foreign policy in general.
May/June 2008
Summary
The United States' unipolar moment is over. International relations in the twenty-first century will be defined by nonpolarity.
May/June 2008
Summary
Despite some eerie parallels between the position of the United States today and that of the British Empire a century ago, there are key differences. Britain's decline was driven by bad economics. The United States, in contrast, has the strength and dynamism to continue shaping the world -- but only if it can overcome its political dysfunction and reorient U.S. policy for a world defined by the rise of other powers.
November/December 2007
Summary
It can, but only if U.S. officials start to think clearly about what success in the war on terror would actually look like. Victory will come only when Washington succeeds in discrediting the terrorists' ideology and undermining their support. These achievements, in turn, will require accepting that the terrorist threat can never be eradicated completely and that acting as though it can will only make it worse.
September/October 2007
Summary
Despite the failure of U.S. democracy-promotion efforts, democracy is spreading across the globe, bolstered by the free market. Although the Arab world, China, and Russia present challenges, pressure for democratic governance will only grow as economies liberalize in the years to come.
August 22, 2008
Given the tarnished record of George W. Bush’s “freedom agenda,” the idea of promoting democracy throughout the world is losing traction with both Democrats and Republicans, write James Goldgeier and Derek Chollet.
July/August 2008
There are many reasons to be optimistic about the United States’ progress on the Iraq front in the war on terror, writes Max Boot.
2008
In this paper commissioned by the Better World Campaign, Lorne Craner of the International Republican Institute and Kenneth Wollack of the National Democratic Institute make policy recommendations for the next U.S. president on democracy promotion.
Winter 2007-08
This piece argues that democracy promotion remains worthwhile as a moral and strategic choice for the United States but that "democracy promotion should be placed in a broader context of promoting economic development, reducing poverty, and furthering good governance."
September 10, 2007
This article discusses forseen and unforseen challenges facing the next US president.
March 24, 2006
The temptation of founding economic pessimism on cultural resistance is matched by the evident enchantment, even more common today, of basing political pessimism, particularly about democracy, on alleged cultural impossibilities.
March 2006
This Carnegie paper reports on meetings held in November 2005 with representatives of mainstream Islamists groups from Arab countries and the conclusions drawn about attitudes regarding democracy and human rights.
February 1, 2006
The Washington Quarterly's Jeffrey Kopstein argues that, given the shifting rationales for the war in Iraq emanating from the White House, it would be understandable if European leaders and the broader European public remained highly suspicious of democracy promotion.
August 5, 2008
The Bush administration's global war on terror has become an unchallenged doctrine in American politics. Iraq expert and Boston University history professor Andrew J. Bacevich says the next U.S. president should take another look.
July/August 2008
From the July/August 2008 issue of Foreign Affairs: The secretary of state offers her defining take on Iraq, Iran, democracy promotion, and American foreign policy in general.
June 12, 2008
The authors of a new book says it was the fall of the Berlin Wall, not the 9/11 attacks, that ushered in the biggest changes confronting U.S. foreign policymakers.
Updated: April 18, 2008
Two experts discuss how the United States should confront shifts in global political power in the 21st century.
Summer 1993
Author: Samuel P. Huntington, Harvard University
Summer 1989
Author: Francis Fukuyama, The Johns Hopkins University
October 24, 2007
Report
March 14, 2007
CRS Report for Congress Updated March 14, 2007, reviewing the cost to the US of the War on Terror.
September 2006
In an address at RAND, Carl Bildt evaluates what has been learned about state-building in the past 5 years.
America Between the Wars
| Speakers: | Derek H. Chollet, Senior Fellow, Center for a New American Security; Coauthor, America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 |
|---|---|
| James M. Goldgeier, Whitney Shepardson Senior Fellow for Transatlantic Relations, CFR; Coauthor, America Between the Wars: From 11/9 to 9/11 | |
| Presider: | Irina A. Faskianos, Vice President, National Program & Outreach, Council on Foreign Relations |
Audio: Academic Conference Call: America Between the Wars (Audio)
This meeting is on the record.
Foreign Affairs Live: A Discussion on Iraqi Futures
| Speakers: | Stephen Biddle, Senior Fellow for Defense Policy, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Steven N. Simon, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Presider: | James F. Hoge Jr., Peter G. Peterson Chair and Editor, Foreign Affairs |
Related Readings:
Transcript: A Discussion of Iraqi Futures
Audio: Foreign Affairs Live: A Discussion of Iraqi Futures (Audio)
Video: Foreign Affairs Live: A Discussion of Iraqi Futures
This meeting is on the record.
2008 Foreign Policy Symposium: Democracy and America’s Role in the World
Related Project: 2008 Foreign Policy Symposium
| Speakers: | Lorne W. Craner, President, International Republican Institute |
|---|---|
| Michael J. Gerson, Roger Hertog Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Henry A. Kissinger, Chairman, Kissinger Associates, Inc. | |
| Vin Weber, CEO, Clark & Weinstock | |
| Ken Wollack, President, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs | |
| Presider: | J. Brian Atwood, Dean, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota |
This session was part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
Transcript: Democracy And America's Role In The World
Audio: 2008 Foreign Policy Symposium: Democracy and America’s Role in the World (Audio)
Video: 2008 Foreign Policy Symposium: Democracy and America’s Role in the World (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
2008 Foreign Policy Symposium: Foreign Policy Challenges Facing the Next Administration
Related Project: 2008 Foreign Policy Symposium
| Speakers: | Edward Alden, Bernard L. Schwartz Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations |
|---|---|
| Kim R. Holmes, Vice President, Foreign and Defense Policy Studies, Heritage Foundation | |
| Michael Levi, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Benn Steil, Senior Fellow and Director of International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Presider: | Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations |
This session was part of a three-day symposium during the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, cosponsored with the University of Minnesota's Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.
Transcript: Foreign Policy Challenges for the Next Administration
Audio: 2008 Foreign Policy Symposium: Foreign Policy Challenges Facing the Next Administration (Audio)
Video: 2008 Foreign Policy Symposium: Foreign Policy Challenges Facing the Next Administration (Video)
This meeting is on the record.
2008 Rocky Mountain Roundtable on International Relations: Panel Discussion: Enhancing the U.S. Role in the World
Related Project: 2008 Rocky Mountain Roundtable on International Relations
| Speakers: | Madeleine K. Albright, Chairman, National Democratic Institute for International Affairs; Former U.S. Secretary of State |
|---|---|
| Geoffrey Garin, President, Peter D. Hart Research Associates | |
| Richard N. Haass, President, Council on Foreign Relations | |
| Richard C. Holbrooke, Vice Chairman, Perseus, LLC; Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, U.S. Mission to the United Nations | |
| Jessica T. Mathews, President, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | |
| Jim Polsfut, Chairman, 2008 Rocky Mountain Roundtable | |
| Vin Weber, Chair, National Endowment for Democracy | |
| Timothy E. Wirth, Chief Executive Officer, United Nations Foundation | |
| Presider: | Tom Brokaw, Special Correspondent, NBC News |
This session was part of a symposium, cosponsored with the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies and the City and County of Denver's 2008 Rocky Mountain Roundtable.
Transcript: Enhancing The U.S. Role in the World
This meeting is on the record.
Global Challenges and Opportunities in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Conversation with R. Nicholas Burns
| Speaker: | R. Nicholas Burns, Undersecretary for Political Affairs, U.S. Department of State |
|---|---|
| Presider: | Doyle McManus, Washington Bureau Chief, The Los Angeles Times |
Transcript: Global Challenges and Opportunities in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Conversation with R. Nicholas Burns [Rush Transcript; Federal News Service]
Audio: Global Challenges and Opportunities in U.S. Foreign Policy: A Conversation with R. Nicholas Burns (Audio)
This meeting is on the record.
In Restoring the Balance: A Middle East Strategy for the Next President, experts from the Council on Foreign Relations and the Saban Center at the Brookings Institution propose a new, nonpartisan Middle East strategy drawing on the lessons of past failures to address both the short-term and long-term challenges to U.S. interests.
This report lays out a thoughtful agenda for U.S. policy toward the Democratic Republic of Congo, arguing that what happens there should matter to the United States--for humanitarian reasons as well as economic and strategic ones.
In this report, CFR Senior Fellow Michael A. Levi analyzes the potential use of deterrence in preventing terrorist groups from acquiring nuclear weapons and recommends a new approach to U.S. declaratory policy, as well as ways to improve U.S. capabilities to determine the sources of terrorist attacks.
Complete list of Council Special Reports.
This report argues that the United States must lead with domestic action on climate change and proposes a U.S. negotiating strategy for a global UN climate agreement that includes commitments from all major economies, while also promoting a less formal Partnership for Climate Cooperation that would focus the world's largest emitters on implementing aggressive emissions reductions.
This Task Force report examines changes in Latin America and in U.S. influence there, while taking account of the region's enduring importance to the United States. The Task Force offers an agenda for U.S. policy toward Latin America and identifies four critical areas that should provide the basis of a new U.S. approach.
About Independent Task Forces at CFR.
A selection of Foreign Affairs pieces by and about the preeminent political scientist of the last half century.
To order Task Force reports, Council Special Reports, and Critical Policy Choices, please call, fax, or order online from our distributor, the Brookings Institution Press: phone +1.800.537.5487, fax +1.410.516.6998.
For information on other reports that are not for sale, or for general publications information, please call +1-212-434-9516 or email publications@cfr.org.
To request permission to reuse Council materials, please email publications@cfr.org or fax +1.212.434.9859.
Please include the complete information of the requested work—author, title, sections/pages to be copied or reprinted, and number of copies to be made—along with a brief description of where and how you would like to reuse the work.
You may also request permission for Council material through Copyright Clearance Center. For more information, please click on the link below.
Copyright 2009 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
Global Economy 