This book brings together the essays of Robert Art, one of America's leading scholars of international relations and US foreign policy.

The essays represent some of his most important and influential international relations and foreign policy pieces written since the end of the Cold War. Focused on the theme of American grand strategy, the essays cover such topics as:

• the use of force
• coercive diplomacy
• nuclear deterrence
• defence policy
• the role of NATO
• US-European relations.

The essays in this collection possess both theoretical depth and historical breadth, providing a coherent assessment of the role that American military power plays in international politics. It includes a new introduction that provides an overview of American grand strategy and an original afterword in which the author reflects on the future of grand strategy in the post-9/11 world.

This book brings together the essays of Robert Art, one of America's leading scholars of international relations and US foreign policy.

Introduction  Part 1: Force and Foreign Policy  1. American Foreign Policy and the Fungibility of Force  2. The United States and Coercive Diplomacy (Co-authored with Patrick M. Cronin)  Part 2: World War II and the Cold War  3. The United States, the Balance of Power, and World War II: Was Spykman Right?  4. To What Ends Military Power?  5. The United States: Nuclear Weapons and Grand Strategy  Part 3: Selective Engagement  6. A Defensible Defense: America's Grand Strategy after the Cold War  7. Geopolitics Updated: The Strategy of Selective Engagement  Part 4: Europe, China, and the Future  8. Why Western Europe Needs the United States and NATO  9. Europe Hedges Its Security Bets  10. The United States and the Rise of China: Implications for the Long Haul  11. Looking Ahead ? Near Term and Far