The American Interest, November, 2007" title="External link to: The American Interest, November, 2007" class="external">Restrain, Modesty, and Multilateralism: A New American Grand Strategy
The last 16 years provide valuable hindsight into the grand strategic approach of the United States and highlight the need to reshape American foreign policy around the principle of restraint, argues Barry R. Posen, director of the security studies program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Writing for the American Interest, he points out that US policy makers have struggled to grapple with identity politics (ethnic strife, asymmetric warfare), diffusion of power (transfer of military technology to antagonistic actors), and the challenges of globalization.
With the leverage derived from sustained unipolarity, the United States must continue to engage, yet encourage other actors to assume the leadership, as well as adopt a defensive rather than an offensive position. Collaborating with partners spreads the burden of battling terrorism, containing humanitarian crises, and bringing about political change. In this spirit, America must strengthen and support NATO, gradually decrease aid to Israel, and ask of Japan to improve its military position in Asia.
