Rogue States and U.S. Foreign Policy: Containment After the Cold War

"This is a first-rate study that brings scholarly analysis to bear on a very important problem in U.S. foreign policy. Litwak's incisive critique of the use of the 'rogue' label for political 'mobilization' purposes is right on the mark."-Alexander George, Stanford University "Litwak's examination of U.S. policy toward 'rogue states' raises the right questions regarding a truly complex and yet very timely subject. It skillfully avoids some of the simplifications that have dominated the public discourse on this vital subject."-Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Adviser President Clinton and other U.S. officials have warned that "rogue states" pose a major threat to international peace in the post-Cold War era. But what exactly is a rogue state? Does the concept foster a sound approach to foreign policy, or is it, in the end, no more than a counterproductive political epithet? Robert Litwak traces the origins and development of rogue state policy and then assesses its efficacy through detailed case studies of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea. He shows that the policy is politically selective, inhibits the ability of U.S. policymakers to adapt to changed conditions, and has been rejected by the United States' major allies. Litwak concludes that by lumping and demonizing a disparate group of countries, the rogue state approach obscures understanding and distorts policymaking. In place of a generic and constricting strategy, he argues for the development of "differentiated" strategies of containment, tailored to the particular circumstances within individual states.