Has Japanese foreign policy changed in the post-Cold War era? On the surface, it appears to have been quite consistent since the end of World War II. It has stressed the U.S.-Japanese security allian…

A provocative look at the world's most difficult, seemingly ineradicable problems—and the surprising stories of the countries that solved them.

The evolution of American foreign policy toward the Soviet Union, and later Russia, is traced through the tumultuous and uncertain period following the end of the cold war. It examines how American policymakers—particularly in the executive branch—coped with the opportunities and challenges presented by the new Russia.

Read an excerpt of The Ideas That Conquered the World. At the dawn of the twenty-first century, three ideas dominate the world: peace as the preferred basis for relations between countries, democr…