Praise for Power & Responsibility

"Power & Responsibility analyzes the threats that surround us, but does not yield to the temptation to despair. It rightly points out that in a world of problems without passports, our security and prosperity depend on unprecedented international cooperation, and that such cooperation is within our reach. By accepting that sovereignty incurs responsibilities and by strengthening international institutions, governments can create an international order in which all can be safe and thrive. This book makes a compelling argument for such an approach."
—Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of United Nations

“The vision, ideas, and solutions the authors put forward in this book have the potential to redeem American foreign policy.”
—from the Foreword by Brent Scowcroft

“I salute Power & Responsibility for undertaking the challenging endeavor of strengthening and improving our current means of international cooperation. This book sets a platform from which to take forward the vital agenda of restoring American leadership and creating a more effective international system."
—Madeleine K. Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State

“Offers timely, relevant, and responsible advice on America’s future foreign policy. The authors address our need to strengthen our alliances and forge relationships based on common interests.”
—Chuck Hagel, former U.S. Senator (R.-Neb.)

“An essential guide to the critical decisions we must make to create a world where all people are secure and can prosper. The authors persuasively argue that in this age of transnational threats, we are compelled to think anew about the nature of power and the role of responsibility. And they challenge us to ‘use the urgency of looming existential security challenges to prompt global action before their worst consequences are felt.’”
—William J. Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense

“Power & Responsibility is that rare book that combines a major conceptual breakthrough with relevant and practical policy prescriptions. Scholars, policymakers, and all practitioners of statecraft should take heed.”
—Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University


“The aim of the Managing Global Insecurity project is to launch a reform effort of the global security system in 2009. That task is both ambitious and urgent. . . . The time to act is now.”
—from the Foreword by Javier Solana

The twenty-first century will be defined by security threats unconstrained by borders—from economic instability, climate change, and nuclear proliferation to conflict, poverty, terrorism, and disease. The greatest test of global leadership will be building partnerships and institutions for cooperation that can meet the challenge. Power & Responsibility describes how American leadership can rebuild international order to promote global security and prosperity for today’s transnational world.

Power & Responsibility establishes a new foundation for international security: “responsible sovereignty,” or the notion that sovereignty entails obligations and duties toward other states as well as one’s own citizens. Governments must cooperate across borders to safeguard common resources and tackle common threats.

Power & Responsibility argues that in order to advance its own interests, the United States must learn to govern in an interdependent world, exercise leadership through cooperation, and create new institutions with today’s traditional and emerging powers. The result of a collaborative project on Managing Global Insecurity, the book also reflects the MGI project’s global dialogue—extensive consultations in the United States and in regions around the world as well as discussions with the MGI project’s Advisory Group, composed of prominent U.S. and international figures.