The Foreign Service Journal, November 2015

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2015 53 University of Texas in Austin since 2010. His government career included stints as director for European affairs at the National Security Council, special adviser to the Secretary of State with the rank of ambassador and chairman of the U.S. National Intelli- gence Council. Jeremi Suri holds the Mack Brown Distinguished Chair for Leadership in Global Affairs at the University of Texas in Austin, and is the author of five previous books on international diplo- macy, strategy and policymaking. Ballots, Bullets and Bargains: American Foreign Policy and Presidential Elections Michael H. Armacost, Columbia University Press, 2015, $35/hardcover; $34.99/ Kindle, 304 pages. In this evocatively titled book, Michael H. Armacost shows how the contours of the U.S. presidential election system influence the content and conduct of U.S. foreign policy. Drawing on 24 years of experience in government, he describes how nomina- tion battles and re-election campaigns each come with unique pitfalls and opportunities in diplomacy. Armacost pays particular attention to the pressure on new presidents to act boldly abroad in the early months of their tenure, even before their national security team is in place and policy priorities are set. He concludes with an appraisal of the virtues and liabilities of the current system, offering some modest suggestions for improvement. Michael H. Armacost is the Shorenstein Distinguished Profes- sor at Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center. In addition to senior positions at the Defense Department and on the National Security Council staff, he served as under secretary of State for political affairs and as U.S. ambas- sador to the Philippines and Japan. Scholars, Policymakers and International Affairs: Finding Common Cause Edited by Abraham F. Lowenthal and Mariano E. Bertucci, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014, $59.95/hardcover; $29.95/paperback; $27.43/Kindle, 260 pages. The chasm between practitioners and aca- demics, particularly in the field of foreign affairs, has been with us for a long time. The contributors to this thoughtful collection of essays—written for a 2011 symposium organized by the edi- tors, Abraham Lowenthal and Mariano Bertucci—seek to bridge that gap by examining a wide variety of diplomatic case studies. Reviewing the book in the January-February FSJ , Joseph Bris- tol noted that the office of State Department Counselor Thomas Shannon “has found the ideas in this book of great interest. The broader foreign policy community and diplomats everywhere will no doubt also find the book useful.” Abraham F. Lowenthal is professor emeritus of the University of Southern California and was the founding director of both the Inter-American Dialogue and the WoodrowWilson Center’s Latin America program. Mariano E. Bertucci is a post-doctoral fellow at the Center for Inter-American Policy and Research at Tulane University. Is the American Century Over? Joseph S. Nye Jr., Global Futures Series, Polity Press, 2015, $45/hardcover; $12.95/paperback; $12.95/Kindle, 152 pages. Joseph S. Nye. Jr. not only coined the term “soft power,” but has arguably done more than anyone else to flesh out that elusive concept. To answer the question he poses in his latest book’s title— Is the American Century Over? —he examines all the claims that the rise of China must, perforce, sig- nal the decline of America, and finds them wanting. He asserts that the American Century will likely continue, but we will wield our power in different ways than heretofore. Reviewing this book in the June FSJ , Harry C. Blaney III found it contained “so many insights into the global dynamics of power and its significance that I would make it required reading for all members of the A-100 course, with a class discussion of the implications of these trends and our role in this new and chang- ing world. It should also be read by all who take the new ambas- sadors’ class.”