TY  - BOOK
AU  - Yetiv,Steven A.
TI  - The absence of grand strategy: the United States in the Persian Gulf, 1972-2005 
SN  - 080188781X
AV  - DS63.2.U5 Y48 2008
U1  - 327.73053609045 22
PY  - 2008///
CY  - Baltimore, MD
PB  - Johns Hopkins University Press
KW  - Iran-Iraq War, 1980-1988
KW  - Persian Gulf War, 1991
KW  - Iraq War, 2003-2011
KW  - Middle East
KW  - Foreign relations
KW  - United States
KW  - 1981-1989
KW  - 1989-
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (pages 231-244) and index; Introduction -- Exploring great powers in regions -- The Nixon administration's twin pillars -- The Reagan administration and the Iran-Iraq War -- The Bush administration and constructive engagement -- The Iraq War of 1991 -- The Clinton administration and Saddam Hussein -- Containment plus and regime change in Iraq -- The Iraq War of 2003 -- The balance sheet, so to speak -- The decline of balance of power policy : theory, strategy and realism -- conclusion
N2  - "Great powers and grand strategies. It is easy to assume that the most powerful nations pursue and employ consistent, cohesive, and decisive policies in trying to promote their interests in regions of the world. Popular theory emphasizes two such grand strategies that great powers may pursue: balance of power policy or hegemonic domination. But, as Steve A. Yetiv contends, things may not always be that cut and dried. Analyzing the evolution of the United States' foreign policy in the Persian Gulf from 1972 to 2005, Yetiv offers a provocative and panoramic view of American strategies in a region critical to the functioning of the entire global economy. Ten cases -- from the policies of the Nixon administration to George W. Bush's war in Iraq -- reveal shifting, improvised, and reactive policies that were responses to unanticipated and unpredictable events and threats. In fact, the distinguishing feature of the U.S. experience in the Gulf has been the absence of grand strategy.Yetiv introduces the concept of "reactive engagement" as an alternative and superior approach to understanding the behavior of great powers in unstable regions. At a time when the effects of U.S. foreign policy are rippling across the globe, The Absence of Grand Strategy offers key insight into the nature and evolution of American foreign policy in the Gulf."--Publisher description
UR  - http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0805/2007031771-b.html
ER  -