What Good Is Grand Strategy?

Grand strategy is one of the most widely used and abused concepts in the foreign policy lexicon. In this important book, Hal Brands explains why grand strategy is a concept that is so alluring—and so elusive—to those who make American statecraft. He explores what grand strategy is, why it is so essential, and why it is so hard to get right amid the turbulence of global affairs and the chaos of domestic politics. At a time when "grand strategy" is very much in vogue, Brands critically appraises just how feasible that endeavor really is.Brands takes a historical approach to this subject, examining how four presidential administrations, from that of Harry S. Truman to that of George W. Bush, sought to "do" grand strategy at key inflection points in the history of modern U.S. foreign policy. As examples ranging from the early Cold War to the Reagan years to the War on Terror demonstrate, grand strategy can be an immensely rewarding undertaking—but also one that is full of potential pitfalls on the long road between conception and implementation. Brands concludes by offering valuable suggestions for how American leaders might approach the challenges of grand strategy in the years to come.

Hal Brands explains why grand strategy is a concept that is so alluring and so elusive to those who make American statecraft, exploring what grand strategy is, why it is so essential, and why it is so hard to get right.

This is a solid piece of scholarship that should be of great value in modern American history classes, foreign policy surveys, and course work in international relations.— Brooks Flippen ― H-Net Reviews

Grand strategy is one of the most widely used and abused concepts in the foreign policy lexicon. In this important book, Hal Brands explains why grand strategy is a concept that is so alluring—and so elusive—to those who make American statecraft. He explores what grand strategy is, why it is so essential, and why it is so hard to get right amid the turbulence of global affairs and the chaos of domestic politics. At a time when "grand strategy" is very much in vogue, Brands critically appraises just how feasible that endeavor really is.

Brands takes a historical approach to this subject, examining how four presidential administrations, from that of Harry S. Truman to that of George W. Bush, sought to "do" grand strategy at key inflection points in the history of modern U.S. foreign policy. As examples ranging from the early Cold War to the Reagan years to the War on Terror demonstrate, grand strategy can be an immensely rewarding undertaking—but also one that is full of potential pitfalls on the long road between conception and implementation.

Brands concludes by offering valuable suggestions for how American leaders might approach the challenges of grand strategy in the years to come.

Introduction: The Meaning and Challenge of Grand Strategy
1. The Golden Age Revisited: The Truman Administration and the Evolution of Containment
2. Travails of the Heroic Statesmen: Grand Strategy in the Nixon-Kissinger Years
3. Was There a Reagan Grand Strategy? American Statecraft in the Late Cold War
4. The Dangers of Being Grand: George W. Bush and the Post-9/11 Era
Conclusion: Grappling with Grand Strategy