From Containment to Global Leadership? America and the World After the Cold War
Abstract
This report discusses the importance of grand strategy for the United States in the post-Cold War era. It aims to contribute to the debate on what that grand strategy should be. It should be of interest to policy makers and analysts in the realms of security and foreign policy, future military forces and their roles and missions, alliances, burden sharing, intelligence priorities, and international politics generally. The report identifies three potential grand strategies, makes the case for choosing one of them, and offers recommendations for how to pursue that strategy. The three options identified and discussed are: Neo isolationism. This option would involve abandoning U.S. preeminence and turning inward to face domestic problems; a return to pre-World War II multipolarity. This option would rely on the balance of power among several nations to preclude the emergence of a preeminent superpower; and maintain U.S. global leadership and preclude the rise of another global rival and multipolarity. The goal is the most promising for a future U.S. grand strategy. A world in which the United States exercises leadership would be more peaceful and offer a better chance for global cooperation and minimize the likelihood of new world wars.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1995
- Accession Number
- ADA286794
Entities
People
- Zalmay M. Khalilzad
Organizations
- RAND Corporation