Clinton's Grand Strategy: US Foreign Policy in a Post-Cold War World

This book is available as open access through the Bloomsbury Open Access programme and is available on www.bloomsburycollections.com. President Clinton's time in office coincided with historic global events following the end of the Cold War. The collapse of Communism called for a new US Grand Strategy to address the emerging geopolitical era that brought upheavals in Somalia and the Balkans, economic challenges in Mexico and Europe and the emergence of new entities such as the EU, NAFTA and the WTO. Clinton's handling of these events was crucial to the development of world politics at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Only by understanding Clinton's efforts to address the challenges of the post-Cold War era can we understand the strategies of his immediate successors, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, both of whom inherited and continued Clinton-era policies and practices. James D. Boys sheds new light on the evolution and execution of US Grand Strategy from 1993 to 2001. He explores the manner in which policy was devised and examines the actors responsible for its development, including Bill Clinton, Anthony Lake, Samuel Berger, Warren Christopher, Madeline Albright and Richard Holbrook. He examines the core components of the strategy (National Security, Prosperity Promotion and Democracy Promotion) and how they were implemented, revealing a hitherto unexplored continuity from campaign trail to the White House. Covering the entire duration of Clinton’s presidential odyssey, from his 1991 Announcement Speech to his final day in office, the book draws extensively on newly declassified primary materials and interviews by the author with key members of the Clinton administration to reveal for the first time the development and implementation of US Grand Strategy from deep within the West Wing of the Clinton White House.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction: The View From the Twenty-First Century The Long Road From Little Rock Taking Charge and Taking Stock A Grand Strategy Emerges Enhancing Security Prosperity Promotion Democracy Promotion Reflections on a Clinton’s Grand Strategy Bibliography Index

About the Author :
James D. Boys is Associate Professor of International Political Studies at Richmond University, UK, and Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King's College London, UK. He is Managing Director of the Resolute Group of Associates and a regular contributor to the BBC, Sky News and Aljazeera.

Review :
Extending his earlier work, Dr. Boys provides a carefully-researched and well-argued analysis of the Clinton foreign policy, identifying a thoughtful and consistent grand strategy often overlooked by critics and commentators. Drawing on key documents and insightful interviews, Boys illuminates the strategic considerations that began in the 1992 presidential campaign and provides a window to understanding U.S. foreign policy in that unique period between the prolonged end of the Cold War and the now dominant and perhaps perpetual War on Terror. In Clinton’s Grand Strategy, James D. Boys provides a comprehensive and balanced assessment of America’s foreign policy by its first Post-Cold War president. He persuasively argues that President Clinton pursued a foreign policy that focused on "national security, prosperity promotion, and democracy promotion” and one that was more cohesive and strategic than some earlier analyses have suggested - albeit not always successful in implementation. Boys employs careful scholarship throughout, utilizes numerous interviews with key Clinton officials and critics to make his case, and writes in a clear and engaging style. In all, Clinton’s Grand Strategy is an important contribution and should prove to be a ready reference for understanding American foreign policy during a crucial decade. [Clinton's Grand Strategy] is a comprehensive, well researched, and necessary addition to our understanding of the Clinton years