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Ronald Reagan and the Cold War: What Mattered Most

Ronald Reagan and the Cold War: What Mattered Most

Scholars, like contemporary observers, continue to argue heatedly over the quality of President Ronald Reagan’s strategy, diplomacy, and leadership. This paper focuses on a fascinating paradox of his presidency: By seeking to talk to Soviet leaders and end…

Assessing Soviet Economic Performance During the Cold War: A Failure of Intelligence?

Assessing Soviet Economic Performance During the Cold War: A Failure of Intelligence?

For years, scholars have argued that economists and the CIA failed to see that the Soviet Union's economy was headed toward collapse. But are they right?

Choosing Primacy: U.S. Strategy and Global Order at the Dawn of the Post-Cold War Era

Choosing Primacy: U.S. Strategy and Global Order at the Dawn of the Post-Cold War Era

Newly declassified U.S. government records shed some light onto U.S. strategic thinking about the post-Cold War era and the infamous Defense Planning Guidance.

The Meaning of Strategy, Part II: The Objectives

The Meaning of Strategy, Part II: The Objectives

By the end of the 19th century, the study of strategy had become routine for practitioners, but of little interest for theorists. By the end of the 20th century, it had become a matter of endless fascination for theorists, but a puzzle for practitioners.

The Meaning of Strategy, Part I: The Origins

The Meaning of Strategy, Part I: The Origins

The word "strategy," which is now commonplace, only first came into use to understand military affairs at the beginning of the 19th century in Europe. Since then, its meaning has changed in important ways.

Why Did America Cross the Pacific? Reconstructing the U.S. Decision to Take the Philippines, 1898-99

Why Did America Cross the Pacific? Reconstructing the U.S. Decision to Take the Philippines, 1898-99

A closer examination of what led President William McKinley to take the Philippines reveals a series of deliberate and thoughtful choices that have often been overlooked or ignored.

‘Blunt Not the Heart, Enrage It’: The Psychology of Revenge and Deterrence

‘Blunt Not the Heart, Enrage It’: The Psychology of Revenge and Deterrence

Scholars and policymakers have a sophisticated view of deterrence, but still have a poor understanding of its psychological underpinnings.

World Order: Many-Headed Monster or Noble Pursuit?

World Order: Many-Headed Monster or Noble Pursuit?

The pursuit of world order has taken many forms in the last 100 years of Anglo-American statecraft, and its terms have been bitterly contested.