Rogue Regimes: Terrorism and Proliferation

The United States faces new and complex foreign policy challenges from non-traditional sources since the demise of the Soviet Union. It is clear that these challenges will come from smaller, more militant, idealistic countries and leaders trying to acquire and improve weapons of mass destruction. Terrorism will clearly become the weapon of choice for these actors in the 21st Century. Dr. Tanter has laid out the threat that many of the world's "rougue" nations and leaders pose to U.S. national security. More importantly he has suggested courses of action for policy makers and implementors to take. It is clear that the U.S. needs to update policy on many nations and organizations. His strong, no-nonsense approach to national security and international relations will not be well received among the "cookies and milk" crowd, but the long-term security of the U.S. depends on the ability American policy-makers to rise to the challenges that face them and make the tough decisions to protect American interests. Tanter's Rouge Regimes should be on their short list of references.

Professor Tanter identifies the rogue gallery during the cold war as containing Stalin, Brezhnev and Mao. With the end of the cold war, America faces different threats. No longer do Americans worry daily about global nuclear war, nevertheless risks, including terrorism, remain. The chapter on Cuba has a marvelous discussion on the interplay between domestic and foreign policy and outlines a variety of policy options available to Washington. The author says that policy makers must analyze the interplay between threat perception, domestic politics and national security. Given the various concerns, Tanter says the option of continuing economic sanctions makes sense if a national security threat reamins, but the policy is less legitimate if domestic politics are the chief motivating force. The discussion includes the cases of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, North Korea as well as Cuba. The reader comes away with a sense of the difficulties that will face any administration in Washington.

Rogue Regimes is a great book for anyone with an interest in foreign policy. Those with little familiarity of the subject can enjoy the book's anecdotes and clear explanations of underlying theory. Policy experts can appreciate the detailed first-hand experiences Tanter recalls. Rogue Regime's focus on economic sanctions and their role in foreign policy is a refreshing change from the usual military-capabilities work I have read. Rogues Regimes suffers mildly from not discussing China. Despie that deficiency, I think Rogue Regimes was well-executed and an important read to those with an interest in foreign policy.

A MUST READ for anyone interested in one of the major post-Cold War challenges of our time: how to deal with rogue governments and their leaders who pose a global threat in terms of state-sponsored terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The book adds a new intellectual dimension into the heated international debate over the use of sanctions, i.e. whether they should be used to induce rehabilitation or punish by retribution. Rogue Regimes is also immensely helpful for all those interested and confounded by the American foreign policy-making process, including the interplay of such determinants as national security interests, US-European relations, domestic interest groups, ideals, bureaucratic politics, and economic and commercial interests.

I read a lot of foreign policy stuff, and this is the most interesting one I've seen in over a year. The personal insights, stories, and legends make these 'Rogues' come alive. Tanter must have an amazing rolodex to know that, not only does Kim- Il Jong have 'pleasure teams,' but also their names.