The Political Economy of Grand Strategy - (Cornell Studies in Security Affairs) by Kevin Narizny

About the Book

A nation's grand strategy rarely serves the best interests of all its citizens. Instead, every strategic choice benefits some domestic groups at the expense of others. When groups with different interests separate into opposing coalitions, societal...

Book Synopsis

A nation's grand strategy rarely serves the best interests of all its citizens. Instead, every strategic choice benefits some domestic groups at the expense of others. When groups with different interests separate into opposing coalitions, societal debates over foreign policy become polarized along party lines. Parties then select leaders who share the priorities of their principal electoral and financial backers. As a result, the overarching goals and guiding principles of grand strategy, as formulated at the highest levels of government, derive from domestic coalitional interests. In The Political Economy of Grand Strategy, Kevin Narizny develops these insights into a comprehensive theoretical framework for understanding the dynamics of security policy.The focus of this analysis is the puzzle of partisanship. The conventional view of grand strategy, in which state leaders act as neutral arbiters of the "national interest," cannot explain why political turnover in the executive office often leads to dramatic shifts in state behavior. Narizny, in contrast, shows how domestic politics structured foreign policymaking in the United States and Great Britain from 1865 to 1941. In so doing, he sheds light on long-standing debates over the revival of British imperialism, the rise of American expansionism, the creation of the League of Nations, American isolationism in the interwar period, British appeasement in the 1930s, and both countries' decisions to enter World War I and World War II.

Review Quotes

"Anyone who believes that 'politics stops at the water's edge' would be well advised to read this valuable account of how partisanship shapes grand strategy. Drawing on the history of American and British statecraft, Kevin Narizny helps us understand why changes in party control at home so often lead nations to redefine their interests abroad. In so doing, he reminds us how inherently political the 'national interest' really is."--Peter Trubowitz, University of Texas at Austin

"Kevin Narizny makes a convincing case for the need to integrate security studies more fully into the mainstream of political science. The Political Economy of Grand Strategy is well written, carefully argued, and consistently insightful. It is must reading for those interested in the domestic determinants of grand strategy."--Michael Mastanduno, Nelson A. Rockefeller Professor of Government, Dartmouth College

About the Author

Kevin Narizny is Assistant Professor of International Relations at Lehigh University.