cover image The Unquiet Frontier: Rising Rivals, Vulnerable Allies, and the Crisis of American Power

The Unquiet Frontier: Rising Rivals, Vulnerable Allies, and the Crisis of American Power

Jakub J. Grygiel and A. Weiss Mitchell. Princeton Univ., $29.95 (240p) ISBN 978-0-691-16375-8

Washington, D.C., geopolitical strategists Grygiel and Mitchell team up to make a persuasive case that strong U.S. alliances with frontier states help preserve global security. In the authors’ view, rising powers Russia, China, and Iran now discern a “void” in American foreign policy and growing tendency to ignore the world, intensified by fatigue with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As the U.S. puts less work into maintaining its alliances, these rivals are becoming more aggressive at probing American weaknesses. An eye-opening, disturbing chapter explains recent moves by these countries as ways of testing American strength. As a result, U.S. frontline allies, notably Israel, Poland, and Taiwan, are growing more nervous. Emphasizing both the importance and fragility of the American system of alliances, the authors argue that a retreat from time-honored obligations is potentially more costly to international stability than any continuing burden. In their view, the U.S.’s primary rivals offer no stable alternative––only a desire to destroy––an international order built and maintained by the U.S. that offers vast benefits to the world. (Mar.)