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Publisher
Basic Books
Release Date
April 2013
Price
$24.99
192 pages
ISBN 978-0465057986
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Overview
A rising China, climate change, terrorism, a nuclear Iran, a turbulent Middle East, a reckless North Korea--all constitute serious challenges. But the biggest threats to U.S. security and prosperity come not from abroad but from within. America's burgeoning deficit and debt, crumbling infrastructure, second-class schools, and outdated immigration system all contribute. The result is a country less competitive and more vulnerable than it should be.
In this provocative and important book, Richard Haass describes a twenty-first century in which power is widely diffused, the result of globalization, revolutionary technologies, and power shifts. It is a "nonpolar" world of American primacy but not domination. Haass argues for a new foreign policy doctrine of Restoration, in which the United States sharply limits its engagement in foreign wars and humanitarian interventions and instead focuses on rebuilding domestic institutions and restoring the economic foundations of its power.
Adopting a doctrine of Restoration will ensure that the United States has the resources it needs to lead the world, set an example other societies will want to emulate, reduce its vulnerability to hostile forces and fickle markets, and discourage would-be adversaries from mounting aggression. This will require hard choices, but hard choices are called for. At stake is nothing less than America's future and the character of the coming era of history.
"Richard Haass shows us that maintaining America's leadership in the world will require significant reforms within our own borders. Full of insight but without polemics or preachiness, this book clearly demonstrates that our ability to inspire, influence, cooperate with, or deter others depends upon our ability to promote shared prosperity and social progress at home."
--William J. Clinton
"Richard Haass has long been a keen observer of the U.S. position on the world stage, and his must-read book is no exception. Haass rightly explains that if the United States is to continue fulfilling the leadership role it has had since World War II, our country must be more restrained in what it does abroad and put its house in order at home by defusing the looming fiscal debt bomb that threatens our national security and global standing."
-–James A. Baker III
"A concise, comprehensive guide to America's critical policy choices at home and overseas. Richard Haass writes without a partisan agenda, but with a passion for solutions designed to restore our country's strength and enable us to lead."
-–Madeleine K. Albright
"A perceptive diagnosis and common sense prescription for what ails us as a nation. It is a practical guide for those who believe America's continued global leadership is critical in the twenty-first century, but who believe it must be anchored in restoration at home and more effective use of all the tools of American foreign policy abroad."
-–Robert M. Gates
"Richard Haass is one America's most insightful and experienced thinkers. In Foreign Policy Begins at Home, Haass explains why our ability to wield power and influence abroad will depend on our confronting pressing challenges at home. He offers a sobering look at the domestic policies that are undermining our international competitivenes--and a thoughtful roadmap for strengthening America's position on the global stage."
-–Michael R. Bloomberg
Richard N. Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations. Until 2003, Dr. Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State as well as U.S. coordinator for policy toward the future of Afghanistan and U.S. envoy to the Northern Ireland peace process. He was also special assistant to President George H.W. Bush and senior director for Near East and South Asian affairs on the staff of the National Security Council from 1989 to 1993. Dr. Haass is the author or editor of eleven books on American foreign policy and one book on management. He regularly writes and speaks on global issues. A Rhodes scholar, he holds a BA from Oberlin College and both master and doctor of philosophy degrees from Oxford University. He has received honorary degrees from Hamilton College, Franklin & Marshall College, Georgetown University, Oberlin College, Central College, and Miami Dade College.
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