Description
Book SynopsisCrossing the full span of the nation's history, Donald Stoker challenges our understanding of the purposes for and uses of American power. From the struggle for independence to renewed competition with China and Russia, he reveals the grand strategies underpinning the nation's pursuit of sovereignty, security, expansion, and democracy abroad.
Trade Review'With singular breadth and subtle depth, Donald Stoker provides a magisterial treatment of American grand strategy. Combining historical insight and analytical clarity, he synthesizes the enduring principles and evolving practices that have shaped the United States' interests, power, and role in the world. Scholars and policymakers alike should welcome this book.' William Inboden, author of The Peacemaker: Ronald Reagan, the Cold War, and the World on the Brink
'Donald Stoker's Purpose and Power is a thoughtful book that looks back upon the history of American grand strategy in order to inform debates over America's purpose in the 21st century. Stoker correctly focuses on aims as the starting point for developing and implementing strategy, and his discussion of strategy – diplomatic, informational, military, or economic, in peace and in war – will go a long way to inform debate over American grand strategy in years to come.' Thomas G. Mahnken, Merrill Center for Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins SAIS
'Stoker's work is an excellent primer on the evolution of America's use of power from the Revolutionary War to the present. His perceptive analysis illuminates the difficulties the US government has had in combining diplomatic, informational, economic, and military power to craft appropriate grand strategy since the nation's founding. Highly recommended for graduate and professional military education.' Peter Mansoor, author of Surge: My Journey with General David Petraeus and the Remaking of the Iraq War
'Purpose and Power is the most comprehensive and complete discussion of America's grand strategy that has been published. Donald Stoker has provided historians and scholars of international relations with a provocative and insightful examination of two centuries of American thinking about its role in the world. This book is likely to become an instant classic in the field.' Thomas Schwartz, author of Henry Kissinger and American Power: A Political Biography
Table of ContentsList of Figures; Abbreviations; Thinking about grand strategy in peace and war; Part I. From Backwater To Great Power: 1. The fight for sovereignty, 1775–1801; 2. Expansion, sovereignty, and war, 1801–1817; 3. Seeking a continent: expansion, Indian removal, and the Mexican War, 1817–1849; 4. Schism, civil war, and reconstruction, 1849–1877; 5. Conquering a continent: the Indian Wars, 1865–1897; 6. American empire, 1897–1913; Part II. From Great Power to Superpower: 7. Stepping on the global stage, 1913–1921; 8. The interwar interlude, 1921–1939; 9. Moving astride the world: the Second World War, 1939–1945; 10. The hot peace and the Korean War, 1945–1953; 11. The hot peace: the Eisenhower, Kennedy, and Johnson years, 1953–1969; 12. The Vietnam War, 1961–1969; 13. Détente and defeat: Nixon, Ford, and Vietnam, 1969–1977; 14. For want of a vision: the Carter years, 1977–1981; 15. Winning the hot peace: Reagan's great power competition, 1981–1990; Part III. The Post Cold War World: 16. The Gulf War, or First Iraq War, 1990–1991; 17. The new world disorder: Bush and Clinton, 1991–2001; 18. Wilsonian revolutionaries: Bush and war, 2001–2009; Part IV. Retreat and Defeat: 19. Retrenchment, engagement, and war: the Obama years, 2009–2017; 20. Retrenchment, engagement, and weakness: Trump and Biden, 2017–2022; Conclusion; Acknowledgements; Notes; Index.
