Search results for ""Author Paul B. Stares""

America finds itself in an acute predicament: The international order it has helped construct over many decades is under increasing stress from various quarters. As the world's predominant military power and principal guarantor of global peace and security, the United States must fulfill its many responsibilities without becoming entangled in costly conflicts that threaten its security, deplete its national power, and weaken its international standing. Preventive Engagement proposes a long-term strategy for how the United States can manage the risks of a more turbulent world in a way that lessens the demand for--and potential drain on--U.S. power. Its novel approach adapts the basic techniques used to prevent many societal problems, such as infectious diseases, violent crime, and drug trafficking. Preventive engagement has three complementary components: the promotion of policies known to lower the risk of violent conflict and political instability; the anticipation of crises most likely to precipitate major U.S. military engagement; and a concerted effort to mitigate if not resolve conflicts that erupt in the short term before escalating into a threat to U.S. interests. This comprehensive approach stresses early detection and foresight to actively manage sources of conflict. Using examples from Syria, Ukraine, and the South China Sea, Preventive Engagement shows its strategy in practice and illuminates the role that international actors, including NGOs, the United Nations, regional organizations, and private businesses, can play to further U.S. preventive goals.

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The United States faces an increasingly turbulent world. The risk of violent conflict and other threats to international order presents a vexing dilemma: should the United States remain the principal guarantor of global peace and security with all its considerable commitments and potential pitfalls––not least new and costly military entanglements––that over time diminish its capacity and commitment to play this vital role or, alternatively, should it pull back from the world in the interests of conserving U.S. power, but at the possible cost of even greater threats emerging in the future?Paul B. Stares proposes an innovative and timely strategy—“preventive engagement”—to resolve America’s predicament. This approach entails pursuing three complementary courses of action: promoting policies known to lessen the risk of violent conflict over the long term; anticipating and averting those crises likely to lead to costly military commitments in the medium term; and managing ongoing conflicts in the short term before they escalate further and exert pressure on the United States to intervene. In each of these efforts, forging “preventive partnerships” with a variety of international actors, including the United Nations, regional organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and the business community, is essential. The need to think and act ahead that lies at the heart of a preventive engagement strategy requires the United States to become less shortsighted and reactive. Drawing on successful strategies in other areas, Preventive Engagement provides a detailed and comprehensive blueprint for the United States to shape the future and reduce the potential dangers ahead.

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