Michael Mandelbaum
Michael Mandelbaum
Michael Mandelbaum is the Christian A. Herter Professor and Director of the American Foreign Policy program at the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies. He has written 10 books on American foreign policy and the edited 12 more. He most recently co-authored That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World It Invented and How We Can Come Back with The New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionAuthor
CountryUnited States of America
special doe done
American influence in the world is certainly considerable, but the United States does not control, directly or indirectly, the politics and economics of other societies, as empires have always done, save for a few special cases that turn out to be the exceptions that prove the rule.
europe people goal
Certainly, protecting oppressed people, stopping ethnic conflict and promoting responsible governance are worthy goals. But none is as important for American security and prosperity as keeping the peace in the Middle East, Europe and East Asia.
dream opportunity growth
Economic growth is necessary to keep the promise - enormously important to individual Americans - that each generation will have the opportunity to become more prosperous than the preceding one, the popular term for which is 'the American dream.
united-states conflict preparing
The United States contributes to peace in both by serving as a buffer between and among regional powers that, while not preparing for armed conflict, do not fully trust one another.
cities towers culture
Societies raise their grandest monuments to what their cultures value most highly. As the tallest buildings in a city noted for tall buildings, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were certainly monumental.
country powerful past
In the past when a country became as powerful as the United States, other countries would band together to clip its wings. But that isn't happening now and I don't think it's not going to happen, because other countries are not threatened by us, and they secretly appreciate the services that we provide, even if they don't usually say so.
political borders roles
To call the American role in the world imperial was, for many who did so, a way of asserting that the United States was misusing its power beyond its borders and, in so doing, subverting its founding political principles within them.
oil important use
The less oil the world uses, the less important the region that has so much of it becomes.
responsibility opportunity government
The government can give citizens opportunity and it's their responsibility to take advantage of it.
government democracy world
First of all, the world criticizes American foreign policy because Americans criticize American foreign policy. We shouldn't be surprised about that. Criticizing government is a God-given right - at least in democracies.
loss matter gains
All policy is a matter of gains and losses, upsides and downsides.
political world stability
American foreign policy, for all its shortcomings, has underpinned political stability around the world.
football rome people
Football is controlled violence, but it is violence, which people have loved to watch since the gladiatorial contests in ancient Rome.
firsts united-states tasks
Let me remind you all that the first task of American foreign policy is to reduce threats to the United States.