Preventive Engagement

"An erudite, elegant, extremely well informed, and very thoughtful explanation of current American grand strategy, this book provides specific, finite, and feasible recommendations for improving the US government's ability to anticipate and manage the latent risks of war." - Michael O'Hanlon, senior fellow at The Brookings Institution

"The liberal international order as we know it is in retreat. The rise of Russia and China, combined with America’s pullback and the uneven progress of globalization, have all shaken the foundations of our global political system—but as Paul Stares rightly points out, that doesn’t mean all is lost. If Americans and/or members of the Trump administration still harbor hope of keeping any semblance of US primacy intact, Stares’ book is a good place to start - Ian Bremmer, president and cofounder, Eurasia Group

Stares offers an optimistic — yet realistic and pragmatic — plan for using all elements of national power to better anticipate and mitigate global problems before they become unmanageable." - Peter Feaver, professor of political science and public policy, Duke university

"National security officials often prepare to fight the last war. In Preventive Engagement, Paul Stares argues for doing more to prevent the next one. In an era when the United States is overcommitted and tensions are multiplying, learning to anticipate and head off trouble makes eminent good sense. Readers may not agree with all of Stares’ recommendations, but his systematic, lucid and forward-looking perspective is a valuable contribution to the broader debate on America’s role in the world." 
- Stephen Walt, Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs, Harvard University

"Paul Stares offers a timely, much needed antidote to a more turbulent world: a comprehensive strategy, drawing on all aspects of American power, to prevent conflict and advance U.S. interests without draining our human or financial resources. Far from disengaging America from the world, Stares rightly advocates greater but smarter engagement. His book is a compelling argument that strength and wisdom must be flip sides of the same foreign policy coin." - Tony Blinken, former Deputy Secretary of State

"Preventive Engagement is a tonic for these times of potentially profound changes and rising anxiety about the durability of the current international order. Paul B. Stares offers a convincing, very practical long-term strategy for preventing and mitigating the kind of global conflict that could otherwise engulf the United States and its allies, with an emphasis on reducing costly military action. Stares seeks to make prevention as much a cornerstone of foreign policy as it is of medicine." - Nancy Lindborg, president, U.S. Institute of Peace