Restraining Power - by David C Hendrickson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Challenges dominant paradigms in international relations and reclaims an intellectual tradition essential for our time.

For centuries, thinkers grappled with a fundamental question: how can sovereign states coexist without destroying each other? Restraining Power recovers a forgotten tradition that offered an answer--the "law of nature and nations" built on reciprocity, justice, and good faith. David C. Hendrickson excavates this vital framework for restraining state violence and shows why it matters now more than ever.

All states, Hendrickson argues, have an interest in observing these principles, but few states have violated them more than the United States. He shows that in crossing these principles, US foreign policy has entered a destabilizing shadow world in which force and fraud seem normal.

Review Quotes

"David Hendrickson writes with verve, insight, and wisdom in what is a must-read book for our perplexing times. I recommend it with great enthusiasm to general readers and specialists alike."
--Rajan Menon, author of The Conceit of Humanitarian Intervention

"Thoughtful, timely, and utterly original. Restraining Power affirms David Hendrickson's place among the leading scholars of his generation. In our so-called Age of Trump, Americans especially would do well to read and heed this book's message."
--Andrew Bacevich, author of After the Apocalypse: America's Role in a World Transformed

About the Author

David C. Hendrickson is emeritus professor of Political Science at Colorado College and the author of nine books, most recently Republic in Peril: American Empire and the Liberal Tradition. A distinguished scholar and commentator on international relations and US foreign policy, he has written for Foreign Affairs, the National Interest, the American Conservative and the Quincy Institute's Responsible Statecraft. He served as President of the John Quincy Adams Society in 2022-23.