David F. Schmitz is the Robert Allen Skotheim Chair of History at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He is the author of Thank God They're on our Side: The United States and Right-Wing Dictatorships, 1921–1965; The Tet Offensive: Politics; War, and Public Opinion; Henry L. Stimson: The First Wise Man; and The United States and Fascist Italy, 1922–1940.

"This book is essential for understanding the central paradox of twentieth-century American foreign policy: why the world's oldest democracy repeatedly backed dictatorships in the name of freedom. Defenders of right-wing dictators argued they were a necessary evil. In his careful study of the collapse of the Cold War consensus since 1965, David Schmitz challenges the notion that this violation of core American values actually served U.S. interests. Friendly tyrants resisted necessary reforms and destroyed the political center, while the 'realist' policy of coddling dictators brought a backlash among foreign populations with long memories. A crucial insight into the uncertain status of America in the world today." Max Paul Friedman, Florida State University

• 1. No acceptable alternative: Mobutu in the Congo; 2. Degrading freedom: the Johnson administration and right-wing dictatorships; 3. Madmen: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and the quest for order; 4. Morality and diplomacy: the church committee and post-Vietnam foreign policy; 5. A fundamental tenet of foreign policy: Jimmy Carter and human rights; 6. What is the alternative?: the Reagan doctrine and authoritarian regimes; Conclusion.

David F. Schmitz is the Robert Allen Skotheim Chair of History at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. He is the author of Thank God They're on our Side: The United States and Right-Wing Dictatorships, 1921–1965; The Tet Offensive: Politics; War, and Public Opinion; Henry L. Stimson: The First Wise Man; and The United States and Fascist Italy, 1922–1940.

"This book is essential for understanding the central paradox of twentieth-century American foreign policy: why the world's oldest democracy repeatedly backed dictatorships in the name of freedom. Defenders of right-wing dictators argued they were a necessary evil. In his careful study of the collapse of the Cold War consensus since 1965, David Schmitz challenges the notion that this violation of core American values actually served U.S. interests. Friendly tyrants resisted necessary reforms and destroyed the political center, while the 'realist' policy of coddling dictators brought a backlash among foreign populations with long memories. A crucial insight into the uncertain status of America in the world today." Max Paul Friedman, Florida State University

• 1. No acceptable alternative: Mobutu in the Congo; 2. Degrading freedom: the Johnson administration and right-wing dictatorships; 3. Madmen: Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, and the quest for order; 4. Morality and diplomacy: the church committee and post-Vietnam foreign policy; 5. A fundamental tenet of foreign policy: Jimmy Carter and human rights; 6. What is the alternative?: the Reagan doctrine and authoritarian regimes; Conclusion.