According to David Callahan, the
greatest problem for U.S.
policymakers in the
post-cold war era has been the
increase in ethnic
conflict He argues that
American policy on this issue, lacking clarity and a vigorous sense of purpose, must be reconfigured, and
Unwinnable Wars prescriptively outlines the various components that might compose a more effective approach.
Written during Callahan's tenure as a visiting scholar at the Twentieth Century Fund, Unwinnable Wars explores in considerable detail the growing importance of self-determination movements at the end of the 20th century, and offers criteria for the United States to use when judging appropriate responses to these movements. Callahan systematically assesses how well the U.S. has done in predicting and understanding significant conflicts in the 1990s, considering specific cases of American leadership interventions, war-crimes indictments, and direct mediation.
Throughout, Callahan exhibits a firm understanding of U.S. foreign policy, past and present, particularly with regard to the foreign policy of the Clinton administration. He optimistically maintains that U.S. foreign policy, despite its present lack of coherency, can develop consistent and effective strategies for defusing and de-escalating ethnic conflicts. Although the United States will never be able to end ethnic wars entirely, Callahan believes that it can help make them less common and, when they do occur, to reduce both their intensity and their duration. --Bertina Loeffler.
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