The Foreign Service Journal - November 2017

Beyond NATO: A New Security Architecture for Eastern Europe Michael E. O’Hanlon, Brookings Institution Press, 2017, $14.99/paperback, $9.59/Kindle, 160 pages. In this new book, part of the Brookings Institution’s Marshall Papers Series, Michael O’Hanlon argues that now is the time for Western nations to negotiate a new security architecture for neu- tral countries in Eastern Europe, both to stabilize the region and reduce the risks of war with Russia. He believes NATO expansion has gone far enough. The core concept of this new security architecture would be one of permanent neutrality. The countries in question arc from the continent’s far north to its south: Finland and Sweden; Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus; Georgia, Armenia and Azerbai- jan; and Cyprus, plus Serbia. O’Hanlon recommends that consideration of the new framework begin within NATO, followed by discussions with the neutral countries themselves before formal negotiations with Moscow. Michael O’Hanlon is a senior fellow and research director for the Brookings Institution. The Confusion of Languages Siobhan Fallon, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2017, $26/hardcover, $12.99/Kindle, 336 pages. Siobhan Fallon’s debut novel takes place in Amman, Jordan, against the backdrop of the newly developing Arab Spring. The story examines the strange friendship that develops between Cassie and Margaret, both spouses of military officers at the embassy. If you’ve been posted to Amman, you’ll feel a homesick twinge as you read her descriptions of the sites you once wandered. But even if you’ve never been there, you’ll recognize that strange land- scape that is life lived overseas: the confusion, shame and sad- ness that sometimes envelope you as you try to navigate the shores of foreign cultures and strangers-turned-friends. Fallon’s first book, a collection of short stories titled You Know When the Men Are Gone (G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 2012), won the PEN Center USA Literary Award in Fiction, the Indies Choice Honor Award and the Texas Institute of Letters Award for First Fiction. OF RELATED INTEREST American Arabists in the Cold War Middle East, 1946-1975: From Orientalism to Professionalism Teresa Fava Thomas, Anthem Press, 2016, $115/hardcover, 300 pages. This book examines the careers of 53 area experts who worked for the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs during the Cold War. Popularly known as “Arabists” or Middle East hands, they were very different in back- ground, education and policy outlook from their predecessors, the “Orientalists.” A highly competitive selection process and rigorous training shaped them into a small corps of diplomatic professionals with top-notch linguistic and political reporting skills. Case studies shed light onWashington’s perceptions of Israel and the Arab world, as well as how American leaders came to regard (and often disregard) the advice of their own expert advis- ers. This study focuses on their transformative role inMiddle East diplomacy from the Eisenhower through the Ford administrations. Teresa FavaThomas is a professor of history at Fitchburg State University in Massachusetts. Asia’s Reckoning: China, Japan and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century Richard McGregor, Viking, 2017, $28/hardcover, $14.99/Kindle, 416 pages. In Asia’s Reckoning , Richard McGregor sounds the alarm about the dangerous geo- political cracks that are forming in the U.S. security umbrella that has enabled Asia to flourish for more than half a century. In particular, the growing rivalry between China and Japan, fueled by Beijing’s regional ambitions and exacerbated by the Trump administration’s disdain for America’s traditional alliance structures, now threatens to upend the global economy. Journalist Richard McGregor has reported extensively from East Asia and Washington, D.C., and was a 2015 WoodrowWilson International Center fellow. His work has appeared in the Finan- cial Times, International Herald Tribune and Foreign Policy . His 2010 book, The Party , was named the Asia Society’s book of the year and the Asian book of the year by Japan’s Mainichi Shimbun newspaper. 42 NOVEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL