The End of Alliances

by Rajan Menon

Why should the United States cling to military alliances established during the Cold War when the circumstances are now fundamentally different? In The End of Alliances , Rajan Menon argues that our alliances in Europe and Asia have become irrelevant to the challenges we face today. The United States must be actively involved beyond its borders, but by relying on coalitions whose membership varies depending on the issue at hand. While a strategy that ceases to rely on alliances will mark a dramatic shift in American foreign policy, he reminds us that states routinely reassess and reorient their strategies. The United States, which studiously avoided alliances for much of its history only to embrace them during the Cold War, is no exception. The End of Alliances predicts that the coming change in American strategy will force our traditional allies to rethink their choices and create new patterns in world politics. The controversial argument advanced by Menon will provoke debate
among foreign policy specialists and the general public.

Genres: Nonfiction

280 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Rajan Menon holds the Anne and Bernard Spitzer Chair in Political Science at the City College of New York/City University of New York and is a Senior Research Scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University and a Global Ethics Fellow at the Carnegie Council on Ethics in International Affairs.

Previously he was the Monroe J. Rathbone Professor and Chairman in the Department of International Relations at Lehigh University. He has been a Fellow at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC, an Academic Fellow and Senior Adviser at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Director for Eurasia Policy Studies at the Seattle-based National Bureau for Asian Research (NBR). He has taught at Columbia University and Vanderbilt University and served as Special Assistant for Arms Control and National Security to Congressman Stephen J. Solarz (D-NY), while an International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, of which he is a member. His current work concerns American foreign and national security policy, international security, globalization, and the international relations of Asia and Russia and the other post-Soviet states.
Menon was awarded the Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Classroom Teaching (at Vanderbilt University) and the Eleanor and Joseph F. Libsch Award for Distinguished Research and the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching (at Lehigh University). He was selected as a Carnegie Scholar (2002-2003) and has also received fellowships and grants from the Woodrow Wilson Center, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Rockefeller Foundation, the John D and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Smith Richardson Foundation, and the US Institute of Peace. Menon has written more than 50 opinion pieces and essays for the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, and Washingtonpost.com. He has appeared as a commentator on National Public Radio, ABC, CNN, BBC, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and World Focus (PBS).

(from https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/profiles/ra...)

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rajan Menon attempts a very ambitious project in this book and raises some thought provoking questions. The idea of why the United States remains in NATO is a question that is not asked often enough. Menon raises an excellent point in asking should the United States have ever formed NATO in the first place. Military alliances are not a natural extension of containment and the policy was based on economics. NATO's role in the post war world lacks focus and the alliance was not meant to go beyond the European continent. While there was some success during the Balkan crisis's the growing role of the EU as opposed to NATO is something that is worth considering. It is a group of countries and not NATO that are showing themselves to be the most useful allies in the war on terrorism. France and Germany have served as detractors opposed to US policy leading to a question of how well the NATO alliance will succeed.

In addition to the questions about NATO Menon also explores how the US relationship with Japan and South Korea are in need of reevaluation. Both of these countries are now economically self sufficient and do not need the United States for defense. While South Korea is at risk from an attack by North Korea there is little that the presence of United States soldiers will do to tip the balance. The need for redeployment of forces to Iraq will force the United States to reevaluate both of these relationships. These analysis points are right on target. Japan and China will have to work out a new balance of power system that will allow them to look at their place in the world. It will be a system that the United States will not factor into within the region.

The biggest drawback to this book is that it does not go far enough. It would have been interesting to see these subjects explored in greater detail however the five stars are still earned because the points are original and there is enough detail to start. Menon does a masterful job of organizing and presenting his topic. It is an excellent look at how the future of United States foreign policy may have to be conducted based on our past experiences. This is well worth the time for anyone interested about America's place in the world to read.

[Tobias · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my review here.