Bridging the Foreign Policy Divide

Bridging the Foreign Policy Divide brings together twenty leading foreign policy and national security specialists—some of the leading thinkers of their generation—to seek common ground on ten key, controversial areas of policy. In each chapter conservative and liberal experts jointly outline their points of agreement on many of the most pressing issues in U.S. foreign policy, pointing the way toward a more constructive debate.In doing so, the authors move past philosophical differences and identify effective approaches to the major national security challenges confronting the United States. An outgrowth of a Stanley Foundation initiative, this book shows what happens when specialists take a fresh look at politically sensitive issues purely on their merits and present an alternative to the distortions and oversimplifications of today's polarizing political environment.

'Bridging the Foreign Policy Divide should be required reading for every foreign policy expert and campaign advisor in the 2008 elections - indeed for the presidential candidates themselves. The authors set out to tackle some of the hardest foreign policy issues facing our nation. This volume identifies and grapples with fundamental differences in how many groups of Americans view the world, yet nevertheless establishes enough common ground to move the debate from partisanship to actual policies.' - Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University'Bridges are important to build and to maintain. Read this book and learn important lessons.' - George Shultz, Distinguished Fellow, Hoover Institution, and former U.S. Secretary of State (1982-89)'With the onset of the ’08 presidential election, there’s a lot of talk about the need for ‘civil debate.’ But what the country really needs is new ideas that draw from the clear thinking on both sides of the partisan divide. That’s why Bridging the Foreign Policy Divide is such a valuable – and timely – contribution. Its editors and authors have set aside their ideological banners, put their heads together rather than butting them, and come up with some imaginative ways of tackling the toughest problems the nation and the world face. Let’s hope the candidates – and voters—are listening.' - Strobe Talbott, President, The Brookings Institution, and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of State (1994-2001)'...serious and thoughtful efforts to escape the dead-end confrontations that now pass for foreign-policy debate in Washington. Occasionally the authors agree to disagree ... but mostly the authors [find] common ground, frequently on creative suggestions with potential appeal in both parties.' - Ronald Brownstein, The Los Angeles Times

Derek Chollet is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a nonresident fellow at the Brookings Institution, and an adjunct associate professor at Georgetown University.Tod Lindberg is a research fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and editor of its journal, Policy Review.David Shorr is a program officer at the Stanley Foundation, focusing on national security strategy and the U.S. role in the world. The Stanley Foundation is a nonpartisan, private operating foundation that focuses on peace and security issues and advocates principled multilateralism.