Shaper nations : strategies for a changing world / edited by William I. Hitchcock, Melvyn P. Leffler, Jeffrey W. Legro. - Cambridge, Massachusetts : Harvard University Press, (c)2016. - 1 online resource

Includes bibliographies and index.

Introduction: Making strategy in the twenty-first century / Brazil: shadows of the past and contested ambitions / China: security dilemma and "win win" / Germany: between power and responsibility / India: modernization in a safe neighborhood / Israel: strategic vision adrift / Russia: geopolitics and identity / Turkey: populism and geography / United States: grappling with rising powers / Conclusion: the world they will make / William I. Hitchcock -- Matias Spektor -- Men Honghua -- Constanze Stelzenmüller -- Srinath Raghavan -- Ariel E. Levite -- Fyodor Lukyanov -- Yaprak Gürsoy -- James B. Steinberg -- Jeffrey W. Legro.

"International order is being remade by new "shapers"--Emerging powers that are increasingly assertive in world affairs. Controversies rage about the trajectory of Chinese strategy, the revival of Russian ambitions, the ascent of India, the reconfiguration of Middle East politics, the return of Germany to geopolitics, and the mounting power of Brazil in the Western Hemisphere. Rarely do scholars and commentators think comparatively about the strategic calculations, politics, and impact of these powers in relation to one another and to the United States. What will the shapers do and why? How should the United States respond? What kind of world will they create? The conventional wisdom on national strategy suggests these shaping states have clear central authority, coherently connect means to ends, and focus on their geopolitical environment. The chapters in this edited volume suggest a different conclusion. In seven critically important countries--Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, Russia, and Turkey--strategy is dominated by nonstate threats, domestic politics, the powerful and distorting effect of history and national identity, economic development concerns, and the sheer difficulty, in the face of so many powerful internal and external constraints, to pursue an effective national strategy. The United States, in responding to these seven shaper states, must comprehend these sources of strategy."--Provided by publisher.



9780674969254


International relations.
World politics--21st century.
Security, International.
National security--United States.
International organization.


Electronic Books.

JZ1313 / .S537 2016