The 9/11 terrorist attacks starkly recast the U.S. debate on "rogue states." In this new era of vulnerability, should the United States counter the dangers of weapons proliferation and state-sponsored terrorism by toppling regimes or by promoting change in the threatening behavior of their leaders? Regime Change examines the contrasting precedents set with Iraq and Libya and provides incisive analysis of the pressing crises with North Korea and Iran.A successor to the author's influential Rogue States and U.S. Foreign Policy (2000), this compelling book clarifies and critiques the terms in which today's vital foreign policy and security debate is being conducted.
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Litwak (international security studies, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars) critically analyzes the Bush administration's emphasis on the need for regime change to confront the perceived threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of "rogue states" or allied terrorist groups. He argues that the turn towards regime change has left an unresolved tension in US foreign policy--behavior change versus regime change--that frustrates the effective integration of force and diplomacy and points to Libya's dismantling of its WMD programs as an example of effective diplomacy of the type that could be upset by too much careless regime change rhetoric. Finally, he illustrate his argument with case studies of US approaches towards Iraq, Libya, Iran, North Korea, and nonstate actors such as Al Qaeda. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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