A New Foreign Policy - by Jeffrey D Sachs (Hardcover)

About the Book

Jeffrey D. Sachs presents timely and achievable plans to foster global economic growth and shift from war making to peacemaking. A New Foreign Policy explores both the danger of the "America first" mindset and the concrete steps the United States must take to build a multipolar world that is prosperous, peaceful, fair, and resilient.

Book Synopsis

The American Century began in 1941 and ended on January 20, 2017. While the United States remains a military giant and is still an economic powerhouse, it no longer dominates the world economy or geopolitics as it once did. The current turn toward nationalism and "America first" unilateralism in foreign policy will not make America great. Instead, it represents the abdication of our responsibilities in the face of severe environmental threats, political upheaval, mass migration, and other global challenges.

In this incisive and forceful book, Jeffrey D. Sachs provides the blueprint for a new foreign policy that embraces global cooperation, international law, and aspirations for worldwide prosperity--not nationalism and gauzy dreams of past glory. He argues that America's approach to the world must shift from military might and wars of choice to a commitment to shared objectives of sustainable development. Our pursuit of primacy has embroiled us in unwise and unwinnable wars, and it is time to shift from making war to making peace and time to embrace the opportunities that international cooperation offers. A New Foreign Policy explores both the danger of the "America first" mindset and the possibilities for a new way forward, proposing timely and achievable plans to foster global economic growth, reconfigure the United Nations for the twenty-first century, and build a multipolar world that is prosperous, peaceful, fair, and resilient.

Review Quotes

Jeffrey Sachs is one of the few prominent American academics who dares to make the bold case that the US has been on the wrong track for decades. Its non-academic style makes this book accessible to any reader who wants to gain a broad understanding of what is driving American grand strategy--International Spectator

A challenging departure from the Beltway assumption that America has acted as a force for good in the world.--Financial Times

A worthwhile read, in which Sachs demonstrates expertise on vastly different policy fields and makes a convincing case that abdicating the toxic intersection of militarism and exceptionalism is key to building a brighter future, both in the U.S. and around the world.--Global Policy

Sachs provides a broad alternative vision not only to the Trump administration's foreign policy, but to past U.S. foreign policy more generally.--LSE Review of Books

Highly recommended.--Choice

His new book is entitled A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism, and there is much inside to be celebrated. I never thought I would utter the words "I agree with Jeff Sachs," let alone put them in print, yet here we are.--American Conservative

Forceful and angry, Sachs verges on hyperbole in his indictment of America past and present, but he does highlight the perils of continuing on the same path.--New York Times Book Review

About the Author

Jeffrey D. Sachs is University Professor and director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. He is also director of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network and has been advisor to three UN secretaries-general. He is a New York Times bestselling author, and his Columbia University Press books include The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair, and Sustainable (2017), and The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020).