Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review“Stimulating and thought-provoking,
Cult of the Irrelevant brings a valuable historical perspective to a subject that too often lacks it.”
—Hal Brands, author of American Grand Strategy in the Age of Trump“The question of policy relevance has bedeviled social scientists for the past century. This is a serious, sober, and well-researched exploration of the issue.”
—Daniel W. Drezner, author of The Ideas Industry"In this deep history of scholarly engagement with strategy and tactics in the age of nuclear and guerrilla war, Michael Desch shows how formalization, rooted in economic fads and fashions, stripped common sense and practical utility from security studies. Gripping, meticulous, and persuasive, his work is of equal value to those who share his wish that academics may better serve the state—and those who think the point is to change it.”
—James K. Galbraith, author of Inequality: What Everyone Needs to Know "Michael Desch has written a fascinating account of the relationship between the academy and the Washington policy community over the past century. For the growing number of younger scholars who are seeking to develop academically rigorous research that is relevant to policy, this look back at how some leading figures in national security tried to bridge the academic and policy worlds will prove tremendously instructive."
—James Goldgeier, American University
