"Few critics [of the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars] have been more penetrating than Andrew Bacevich . . . One can only hope that Bacevich is read and understood by a generation young enough to see through and reject those dismal elites."
-The New York Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)

The purpose of U.S. foreign policy is, at least theoretically, to keep Americans safe. Yet as we confront a radically changed world, it has become clear that the terms of that policy have failed. Washington's insistence on a market economy, its faith in the idea of the "West" and its "special relationships," its conviction that military primacy is the key to a stable and sustainable world order-these have brought endless wars and a succession of moral and material disasters.

In a bold reconception of America's place in the world, informed by thinking from across the political spectrum, historian Andrew Bacevich lays down a new approach based on moral pragmatism, mutual coexistence, and war only as a last resort in After the Apocalypse. Confronting the threats of the future-climate change, a shift in the international balance of power, and the rise of information technology as a weapon of war-his vision calls for a profound overhaul of our understanding of national security, setting out new principles to guide the once-but-no-longer sole superpower as it navigates a transformed world.

Inhalt

A Note to the Reader
Introduction: Not So Innocent
1: Old, New, Next
2: The Eclipse of the West
3: Not So Special
4: Strange Defeats, American-Style
5: Nature Bites Back
6: Why We Fought/Why We Fight
7: Kissing Your Empire Goodbye
8: The History That Matters
Conclusion: Facts, Not Feelings
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index