THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | NOVEMBER 2024 33 POLICY & ISSUES Lost Decade: The US Pivot to Asia and the Rise of Chinese Power Robert D. Blackwill and Richard Fontaine, Oxford University Press, 2024, $29.99/hardcover, e-book available, 480 pages. Two foreign policy experts—one a retired Foreign Service o cer—explore whether the U.S. government’s “Pivot to Asia,” begun during the Obama administration in 2011, has been a strategic success. Outlining its aims, achievements, and where it has fallen short, they present the historical context of the pivot and propose a path forward to preserve American security and prosperity. Robert Blackwill is a retired Senior Foreign Service o cer and former ambassador who served as principal deputy assistant secretary for political a airs and European a airs, before being appointed by President Ronald Reagan as chief U.S. negotiator with the Warsaw Pact. He was later appointed by President George H.W. Bush as special assistant to the president for national security a airs and senior director for European and Soviet a airs as well as U.S. ambassador to India from 2001 to 2003. He is currently a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International A airs. Co-author Richard Fontaine, a veteran foreign policy professional who has specialized in Asian a airs, is executive director of the Trilateral Commission, a member of the Defense Policy Board, and the chief executive o cer of the Center for a New American Security. Pakistan and American Diplomacy: Insights from 9/11 to the Afghanistan Endgame Ted Craig, Potomac Books, 2024, $34.95/hardcover, e-book available, 296 pages. As a Foreign Service o cer, Ted Craig served in Pakistan twice, including as political counselor from 2018 to 2019. He brings his expertise and insights to Pakistan and American Diplomacy with a fast-moving tour through Pakistan-U.S. relations, from 9/11 to the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. He outlines the history of Pakistan’s diplomacy and its relations with regional neighbors India, Sri Lanka, China, and Afghanistan. Also detailing the policy failures that led to the fall of the Kabul government in 2021, he discusses the di culties the U.S. government faces in promoting democracy while combating terrorism. Ted Craig retired from the Foreign Service in 2018, after 29 years and two tours in Islamabad. He also served three tours in Latin America and held policy jobs related to peace and security, environmental diplomacy, and human rights. He is currently a counterterrorism program adviser based in Tashkent. American Global Leadership: Ailing US Diplomacy and Solutions for the Twenty-First Century G. Doug Davis and Michael O. Slobodchikoff, eds., University of Tennessee Press, 2024, $34.95/paperback, e-book available, 496 pages. Dedicated to former Secretary of State George Shultz, and with a foreword written by yet another former Secretary, James Baker, this book comprises 15 essays about American diplomacy and lessons learned by retired diplomats including Ambassadors Tom Pickering, Ron Neumann, Marc Grossman, David Dunford, and Michael McFaul as well as retired General Wesley Clark. e authors discuss the relevance of diplomacy in resolving global crises, the use of military policy and force as diplomatic tools, skills diplomats should possess, and the obstacles facing current U.S. foreign policy. ey also examine both American mistakes and successes of the past 70 years and evaluate how the role of diplomacy has changed over time and how it must continue to evolve into the future. American Global Leadership will interest scholars of diplomatic history and political science, current diplomats, and those aspiring to careers in the U.S. Foreign Service.
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