In Defense of the National Interest

A landmark in the study of international relations, this reprint of the 1951 Alfred Knopf publication calls on Americans to recognize the primacy of national interest in the formulation of foreign policy. A controversial thesis in 1951, this statement of ideas has stood the test of time well into the 1980s. The author argued that it was essential to relearn on a continuing basis the enduring principles of international politics. He never abandoned the conviction that the national interest, expanded and redefined to make possible the mitigation and relief of novel and unprecedented threats to human survival, was fundamental.