Difficult Transitions: Foreign Policy Troubles at the Outset of Presidential Power - Hardcover

" Difficult Transitions is unquestionably a book that members of the Obama administration should read and reread." --Ernest R. May, The National Interest "A thoughtful book on presidential transitions and foreign-policy challenges, anchored in the lessons of history." --Will Inboden, The New ForeignPolicy.com "Sensible prescriptions for stopgap measures to overcome the time-specific vulnerabilities between Election Day and Jan. 20 can be found in [this] engrossing new book... If you are a history or government junkie, you will want to read it. It is clear to me that Obama and his inner circle have, and with great attention." --Jim Hoagland, Washington Post "Their advice is based on personal observations and a thorough effort to mine White House memoirs for insights about transition issues. The book ends with a detailed, useful bibliographical essay that reviews the limited literature on foreign policy in presidential transitions. This is a book that is likely to be consulted at regular four- or eight-year intervals. Recommended." -- CHOICE "[a] comprehensive and useful guide" --Walter Russell Mead, Foreign Affairs

New presidents have no honeymoon when it comes to foreign policy. Less than three months into his presidency, for example, John F. Kennedy authorized the disastrous effort to overthrow Fidel Castro at the Bay of Pigs. More recently, George W. Bush had been in office for less than eight months when he was faced with the attacks of September 11. How should an incoming president prepare for the foreign policy challenges that lie immediately ahead? That's the question Kurt Campbell and James Steinberg tackle in this compelling book. Drawing on their decades of government service -in the corridors of Capitol Hill, the intimate confines of the White House, the State Department, and the bare-knuckles Pentagon bureaucracy -Campbell and Steinberg identify the major foreign policy pitfalls that face a new presidential administration. They explain clearly and concisely what it takes to get foreign policy right from the start. The authors set the scene with a historical overview of presidential transitions and foreign policy including case studies of such prominent episodes as the "Black Hawk Down" tragedy in Somalia that shook the Clinton administration in its first year and the Bush administration's handling of the collision between a U.S. reconnaissance plane and a Chinese fighter jet in the spring of 2001. They pinpoint the leading causes of foreign policy fiascos, including the tendency to write off the policies of the outgoing administration and the failure to appreciate the differences between campaign promises and policy realities. Most important, they provide a road map to help the new administration steer clear of the land mines ahead. America's next president will confront critical foreign policy decisions from day one. Dif ficult Transitions pr ovides essential guidance for getting those choices right.