Security and Smart Power

Reconciling values and interests is a long-standing problem in American foreign policy. Amitai Etzioni's Security First is a welcome corrective to the truncated Wilsonianism of recent neo-conservative doctrines. His proposed combination of hard and soft power deals primarily with two of the major challenges that America faces: nuclear spread and Islamist extremism. His approach says less about one traditional challenge—the rise of China—and two new ones—an energy crisis or an ecological breakdown (such as pandemics or dramatic climate change). And even in regard to the first two issues, some argue that the doctrine of containment remains a viable alternative.