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Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy

Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy

Christopher A. Preble

In its dealings with the broader world, has the United States been a force for liberty? Should it be? And if so, why?
Christopher A. Preble answers these questions.

In its dealings with the broader world, has the United States been a force for liberty? Should it be? And if so, how? 

To answer these questions, Peace, War, and Liberty: Understanding U.S. Foreign Policy traces the history of the United States foreign policy and the ideas that have animated it, and considers not only whether America’s policy choices have made the world safer and freer but also the impact of those choices of freedom at home. 

In this evenhanded but uncompromising commentary, Christopher A. Preble considers the past, present, and future of U.S. foreign policy: why policymakers in the past made certain choices, and how the world might look if America chose a different path for the future. Would America, and the world, be freer if America’s foreign policy were more restrained?

Please see the guide page for this book here. 

Find an introduction to the book on cato.org here. 

Podcasts about the Book:

Preble sat down with Caleb Brown to discuss the new book on the Cato Daily Podcast here. 

Preble sat down with Anthony Comenga for a two-part discussion, part one is here & part two is here.

Preble sat down with Trevor Burrus and Aaron Ross Powell on Free Thoughts here.

Christopher A. Preble

Christopher A. Preble is the vice president for defense and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. He is the author of three books including The Power Problem: How American Military Dominance Makes Us Less Safe, Less Prosperous and Less Free, which documents the enormous costs of America’s military power, and proposes a new grand strategy to advance U.S. security; and John F. Kennedy and the Missile Gap, which explores the political economy of military spending during the 1950s and early 1960s. Preble is also the lead author of Exiting Iraq: How the U.S. Must End the Occupation and Renew the War against Al Qaeda; and he co-edited, with Jim Harper and Benjamin Friedman, Terrorizing Ourselves: Why U.S. Counterterrorism Policy Is Failing and How to Fix It. Before joining Cato in February 2003, he taught history at St. Cloud State University and Temple University. Preble was a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy, and served onboard USS Ticonderoga (CG-47) from 1990 to 1993. Preble holds a Ph.D. in history from Temple University.