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
attitudes carried defining desirable directions events future policies shape toward words
Words matter, especially words defining complicated political arrangements, because they shape perceptions of the events of the past, attitudes toward policies being carried out in the present, and expectations about desirable directions for the future.
confusion forces large neither nor people section sports turn understand
Read the news section of the newspaper and there is confusion and uncertainty, a world buffeted by large forces people neither understand nor control. But turn to the sports section and it's all different.
analogies assumption mislead
While analogies are useful, however, they can also be misleading. They smuggle in assumptions that can be wrong.
country division world
The main division in the world is between democratic and undemocratic countries.
government world united-states
The United States doesn't do what it does in the world for altruistic reasons. Nobody set out to be the world's government.
determination past america
The values, the programs, the formula, the determination, and the patriotism responsible for America's past success are still here to be tapped.
riches ifs
The windfall of great riches can, if mismanaged, make things worse, not better, for the recipients.
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.
responsibility opportunity government
The government can give citizens opportunity and it's their responsibility to take advantage of it.