John Hulsman's new book (written with A. Wess Mitchell), The Godfather Doctrine: A Foreign Policy Parable, was published by Princeton University Press in February 2009. It draws clear and essential lessons from one of the greatest Hollywood movies ever made, providing an excellent parable to dramatically illustrate America's changing geopolitical place in the world, as well as the dueling strategies for meeting the country's momentous new challenges. In The Godfather Doctrine, the aging and wounded don, Vito Corelone, is emblematic of Cold War America on the decline in a new world where our enemies play by unfamiliar rules. The don's three heirs uncannily exemplify the three leading schools of thought in American foreign policy today. Tom, the left-of-center liberal institutionalist, thinks the old rules still apply and that negotiation is always the answer. Sonny is the Bush-era neocon who shoots first and asks questions later. Only Michael, the realist, has a sure feel for the changing scene, recognizing the need for flexible combinations of soft and hard power to maintain the family's safety and influence in a dangerous and rapidly changing world. Drawing from Hulsman and Mitchells' highly debated article, The Godfather Doctrine is an entertaining, accessible, provocative, and essential look at the strange new world we find ourselves in.
Dr. Hulsman's prior book, > Ethical Realism: A Vision for America’s Role in the World (written with Anatol Lieven), was first published by Pantheon Press in September 2006. Very favorably reviewed in The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, and the New York Times, foreign policy decision-makers as far afield as former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lavished praise on the book. The Washington Post review went so far as to state that Ethical Realism was leading the race to win the George Kennan prize as the most useful book of the new era. Having written one of the most important foreign policy books of recent years, Hulsman is recently completing his current project, To Begin the World Over Again: Lawrence of Arabia and the Perils of Nation Building, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan Press in the Fall of 2009.
Palgrave, 2009
Lawrence of Arabia is best remembered for the Oscar-winning film about his life. But there is a different T.E. Lawrence, a man who applied his unique experiences and extensive knowledge of the Arab world to a political vision for nation building in the Middle East that holds many lessons for today. Following the Arab Revolt, Lawrence embarked on a heroic effort, harnessing his celebrity to force the British to keep the promises made to their Arab allies. Alas, he was unable to stop the Western powers from carving up the Middle East at Versailles, thus laying the foundations for the ongoing instability in that region. Still, until the day he died, Lawrence continued to fight for Arab nationalism, famously saying: “Better to let them do it imperfectly than do it perfectly yourself, for it is their country, their war, and your time is short.” By weaving together a gripping narrative of Lawrence’s Middle East adventures and highlighting his surprisingly astute political thinking, John Hulsman teases out this and many other lessons to be learned from Lawrence about the Arab world.
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(with A. Wess Mitchell) Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2009
The Godfather Doctrine draws clear and essential lessons from perhaps the greatest Hollywood movie ever made to illustrate America's changing geopolitical place in the world and how our country can best meet the momentous strategic challenges it faces.
In the movie The Godfather, Don Corleone, head of New York's most powerful organized-crime family, is shockingly gunned down in broad daylight, leaving his sons Sonny and Michael, along with his adopted son, consigliere Tom Hagen, to chart a new course for the family. In The Godfather Doctrine, John Hulsman and Wess Mitchell show how the aging and wounded don is emblematic of cold-war American power on the decline in a new world where our enemies play by unfamiliar rules, and how the don's heirs uncannily exemplify the three leading schools of American foreign policy today. Tom, the left-of-center liberal institutionalist, thinks the old rules still apply and that negotiation is the answer. Sonny is the Bush-era neocon who shoots first and asks questions later, proving an easy target for his enemies. Only Michael, the realist, has a sure feel for the changing scene, recognizing the need for flexible combinations of soft and hard power to keep the family strong and maintain its influence and security in a dangerous and rapidly changing world.
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(with Anatol Lieven) New York: Pantheon Press, 2006
America today faces a world more complicated than ever before, but both political parties have failed to envision a foreign policy that addresses our greatest threats. As a result, the United States risks lurching from crisis to crisis. The Bush administration's foreign policy strategy is bankrupt, but the Democrats are not providing any real alternatives.
Ethical Realism presents such an alternative, including both a new philosophical basis and a coherent set of detailed, practical and courageous policy recommendations. Anatol Lieven and John Hulsman, two distinguished policy experts from different political camps, have joined forces to write an impassioned manifesto that illuminates a new way forward.
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Book Review: The New York Times
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London: The Institute of Economic Affairs, 2001
At a time when public opposition to joining the euro is increasing and a debate is emerging about the long term costs and benefits of Britain's membership of the EU, this paper presents a timely solution to Britain's somewhat strained relationship with the EU. Dr John C Hulsman, a senior policy analyst at the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, presents a compelling case for the advancement of Britain's trade interests through UK participation in a global free trade association. This would permit Britain to gain the benefits of freer trade whilst avoiding a constant battle with EU partners over ever-closer integration.
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Hampshire, England: Macmillan Press and St. Martin’s Press, 1997
Lawrence of Arabia is best remembered for the Oscar-winning film about his life. But there is a different T.E. Lawrence, a man who applied his unique experiences and extensive knowledge of the Arab world to a political vision for nation building in the Middle East that holds many lessons for today. Following the Arab Revolt, Lawrence embarked on a heroic effort, harnessing his celebrity to force the British to keep the promises made to their Arab allies. Alas, he was unable to stop the Western powers from carving up the Middle East at Versailles, thus laying the foundations for the ongoing instability in that region. Still, until the day he died, Lawrence continued to fight for Arab nationalism, famously saying: “Better to let them do it imperfectly than do it perfectly yourself, for it is their country, their war, and your time is short.” By weaving together a gripping narrative of Lawrence’s Middle East adventures and highlighting his surprisingly astute political thinking, John Hulsman teases out this and many other lessons to be learned from Lawrence about the Arab world.
Amazon
more...