George W. Bush has launched a revolution in American foreign policy. He has redefined how America engages the world, shedding the constraints that friends, allies, and international institutions impose on its freedom of action. He has insisted that an America unbound is a more secure America.
How did a man once mocked for knowing little about the world come to be a foreign policy revolutionary? In America Unbound, Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay dismiss claims that neoconservatives have captured the heart and mind of the president. They show that George W. Bush has been no one’s puppet. He has been a strong and decisive leader with a coherent worldview that was evident even during the 2000 presidential campaign.
Daalder and Lindsay caution that the Bush revolution comes with significant risks. Raw power alone is not enough to preserve and extend America’s security and prosperity in the modern world. The United States often needs the help of others to meet the challenges it faces overseas. But Bush’s revolutionary impulse has stirred great resentment abroad. At some point, Daalder and Lindsay warn, Bush could find that America’s friends and allies refuse to follow his lead. America will then stand alone—a great power unable to achieve its most important goals.
Winner of the 2003 Lionel Gelber Prize
The New York Times Book Review, Sunday January 25, 2004
Newsweek Q & A and Review
Chosen as one of the year's best books in politics and current affairs by The Economist
Received ForeWord Magazine's Silver Book of the Year Award in Political Science