Rogue States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Containment after the Cold War
The term rogue state has been informally applied in the post-Cold War world to those governments that are acquiring weapons of mass destruction, support terrorism abroad, or have the ability to destabilize a region in which the United States has an interest. In other contexts, it is the epithet of choice for those regimes that Washington doesn't like. Litwak, director of international studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center, clearly explains the tensions created by the multiple uses of the term and uses three case studies (Iran, Iraq, and North Korea) to demonstrate how differently the term has been applied. Each case summarizes the interactions between the United States and that state, the domestic context that affected the policy of the other party, and an analysis of the resulting U.S. policy. Litwak clearly supports his thesis that the application of such a pejorative term to another government distorts U.S. policymaking and reduces the flexibility and options available to U.S. policymakers. Academic libraries will want this.-Marcia L. Sprules, Council on Foreign Relations Lib., New YorkCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.