Robert J. Lieber – författare

A clear-eyed analysis of the role the United States should play in the world as it exists today  The United States remains “the indispensable nation.” In this book, the distinguished international relations theorist and foreign policy specialist Robert Lieber argues that in a world full of revisionist powers, America’s role is more important than ever. No other country is capable of playing that role. America remains the essential pillar of the postwar liberal order. It is a center of both political and financial stability, and it promotes important values that the revisionist powers do not. Not beholden to any particular theory, this is a clear-eyed analysis of the role the United States should play in the world as it exists today.

British Politics and European Unity: Parties, Elites, and Pressure Groups offers a comprehensive analysis of Britain’s complex relationship with European integration from 1956 to 1967. The book delves into three pivotal phases in British policy: the Free Trade Area and European Free Trade Association negotiations, the Macmillan Government's attempt to join the Common Market, and the Wilson Government's early efforts before the French veto of 1967. These critical years are scrutinized to unravel why Britain struggled to align with European developments and what lessons can be drawn as European membership debates reemerge.Combining descriptive narrative with theoretical exploration, the study examines how economic pressure groups, political parties, and public opinion shaped European policy. Through a dual lens of functional representation and party politics, the book reveals the crucial yet restraining role of organized interests in decision-making. It also highlights how moments of heightened political attention, or "politicization," shifted control to national leadership prioritizing broader interests. This volume is essential for scholars of British politics, European integration, and public policy, offering valuable insights into the interplay between domestic pressures and international ambitions.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1970.

British Politics and European Unity: Parties, Elites, and Pressure Groups offers a comprehensive analysis of Britain’s complex relationship with European integration from 1956 to 1967. The book delves into three pivotal phases in British policy: the Free Trade Area and European Free Trade Association negotiations, the Macmillan Government's attempt to join the Common Market, and the Wilson Government's early efforts before the French veto of 1967. These critical years are scrutinized to unravel why Britain struggled to align with European developments and what lessons can be drawn as European membership debates reemerge.Combining descriptive narrative with theoretical exploration, the study examines how economic pressure groups, political parties, and public opinion shaped European policy. Through a dual lens of functional representation and party politics, the book reveals the crucial yet restraining role of organized interests in decision-making. It also highlights how moments of heightened political attention, or "politicization," shifted control to national leadership prioritizing broader interests. This volume is essential for scholars of British politics, European integration, and public policy, offering valuable insights into the interplay between domestic pressures and international ambitions.This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1970.

To argue against the widely proclaimed idea of American decline might seem a lonely task. After all, the problems are real and serious. Yet if we take a longer view, much of the discourse about decline appears exaggerated, hyperbolic and ahistorical. Why? First, because of the deep underlying strengths of the United States. These include not only size, population, demography and resources, but also the scale and importance of its economy and financial markets, its scientific research and technology, its competitiveness, its military power and its attractiveness to talented immigrants. Second, there is the weight of history and of American exceptionalism. Throughout its history, the United States has repeatedly faced and eventually overcome daunting challenges and crises. Contrary to a prevailing pessimism, there is nothing inevitable about American decline. Ultimately, the ability to avoid serious decline is less a question of material factors than of policy, leadership and political will.

The American Era makes a provocative argument about America's world role. It sets out the case for a grand strategy that recognizes American preponderance as necessary and desirable for coping with the perils of the post-9/11 world. The book argues firstly that, Militant Islamic terrorism and weapons of mass destruction pose a threat which requires us to alter the way we think about the pre-emptive and preventive use of force. Secondly, the UN and other international bodies are incapable of acting on these urgent problems. Thirdly, in an international system with no true central authority other countries will inevitably look for leadership to the US. The book argues that if America does not respond actively to terrorist threats, no one else will take the initiative.

The American Era makes a provocative argument about America's world role. It sets out the case for a grand strategy that recognizes American preponderance as necessary and desirable for coping with the perils of the post-9/11 world. The book argues firstly that, Militant Islamic terrorism and weapons of mass destruction pose a threat which requires us to alter the way we think about the pre-emptive and preventive use of force. Secondly, the UN and other international bodies are incapable of acting on these urgent problems. Thirdly, in an international system with no true central authority other countries will inevitably look for leadership to the US. The book argues that if America does not respond actively to terrorist threats, no one else will take the initiative.

The best writing on foreign policy integrates theory and policy in ways that address the principal questions about a country's place in the world and encourage the reader to think about contemporary questions from a long-term perspective. Accordingly, the essays in this volume have been chosen with an eye to whether they represent important and original thinking and are likely to remain relevant. The authors included here represent diverse views about foreign policy and the international context in which it takes place. While two dozen pieces chosen from a vast literature can never be definitive, nevertheless each of these articles offers a thoughtful, reasoned and often eloquent assessment that is likely to remain a reference point for those seriously interested in the subject. The work is organized into five sections: how to think about foreign policy, the domestic context, foreign policy and unipolarity, foreign policy after 9/11, and foreign policy and the future.

Originally published in 1973, Theory and World Politics provides a penetrating and lucid treatment of the possibilities and applications of the important contemporary approaches to international relations at the time. The essays aim at developing a more reliable and systematic understanding of the subject, and they are presented in such a way that the reader does not become lost in a maze of social-scientific jargon.Professor Lieber very aptly relates the scientific approach to real world problems and clearly explains and integrates new and important theoretical perspectives. In an eminently readable style, he covers such topics as: game theory, integration theory, communications and systems theories, approaches to power and conflict, and the relationship of theory to public policy and political values.This book filled a major and previously unmet need in the international relations field; it will be a stimulus to thought for scholars and professionals with interests in this field and promised to become the ideal accompaniment to any undergraduate course on the subject.

To argue against the widely proclaimed idea of American decline might seem a lonely task. After all, the problems are real and serious. Yet if we take a longer view, much of the discourse about decline appears exaggerated, hyperbolic and ahistorical. Why? First, because of the deep underlying strengths of the United States. These include not only size, population, demography and resources, but also the scale and importance of its economy and financial markets, its scientific research and technology, its competitiveness, its military power and its attractiveness to talented immigrants. Second, there is the weight of history and of American exceptionalism. Throughout its history, the United States has repeatedly faced and eventually overcome daunting challenges and crises. Contrary to a prevailing pessimism, there is nothing inevitable about American decline. Ultimately, the ability to avoid serious decline is less a question of material factors than of policy, leadership and political will.

What are the consequences of retreat and retrenchment in foreign policy? In recent years, America has pulled back from its long-time role of international leadership. In doing so the Obama administration has sought to conciliate adversaries, shown indifference to allies; called upon the international community to step in; proclaimed and then disavowed 'red lines'; and preferred to lead from behind in the face of catastrophic civil war in Syria, ISIS barbarism in the Middle East and North Africa, Russia's predatory behavior in Eastern Europe, and China's muscle-flexing in East Asia. The consequences of this 'realist' experiment have been costly and painful, and it has caused the US to lose credibility with friends and foes. America retains the capacity to lead, but unless it resumes a more robust role, the world is likely to become a more dangerous place, with mounting threats not only to regional stability and international order, but to the national interests of America itself.