The Illusion of Control: Force and Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century

by Seyom Brown

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This provocative book assesses the implications of a disturbing trend in U.S. security policy: an increased willingness to use military force as an instrument of diplomacy. In The Illusion of Control, Seyom Brown shows how U.S. officials are relying on force to counter a wide range of threats to America's global interests--eclipsing previous strategies that restricted the use of military force to situations in which the country's vital...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0815702639
• ISBN13: 9780815702634
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Length: 212 Pages
• Weight: 0.68 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.1" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Warning of the consequences of the overuse of brute force

A work of impressive scholarship by Seyom Brown (Professor of International Cooperation in the Department of Politics, Brandeis University), The Illusion Of Control: Force And Foreign Policy In The 21st Century is a informed and informative survey and analysis of the usage and impact of force in world politics as a crisis reaction, and the dangers of mistakenly estimating the ever-changing nature of war itself in today's volatile and confusing world. A cautionary presentation warning of the consequences of the overuse of brute force as a first resort, The Illusion Of Control is a timely and welcome contribution to the contemporary national dialogue regarding American foreign policy and the role of a military-based diplomacy in our now global efforts in the war against terrorism.