Superpower Illusions
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How Myths and False Ideologies Led America Astray--And How to Return to Reality
Jack F. Matlock, Jr.
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A former U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union demolishes central myths that have distorted America's recent foreign policy—including the idea that the United States destroyed Communism and defeated the Soviet Union in the Cold War—and makes bold recommendations for the Obama administration.
Former U.S. ambassador to the USSR Jack F. Matlock refutes the enduring idea that the United States forced the collapse of the Soviet Union by applying military and economic pressure—with wide-ranging implications for U.S. foreign policy. Matlock argues that Gorbachev, not Reagan, undermined Communist Party rule in the Soviet Union and that the Cold War ended in a negotiated settlement that benefited both sides. He posits that the end of the Cold War diminished rather than enhanced American power; with the removal of the Soviet threat, allies were less willing to accept American protection and leadership that seemed increasingly to ignore their interests.
Matlock shows how, during the Clinton and particularly the Bush-Cheney administrations, the belief that the United States had defeated the Soviet Union led to a conviction that it did not need allies, international organizations, or diplomacy, but could dominate and change the world by using its military power unilaterally. The result is a weakened America that has compromised its ability to lead. Matlock makes a passionate plea for the United States under Obama to reenvision its foreign policy and gives examples of how the new administration can reorient the U.S. approach to critical issues, taking advantage of lessons we should have learned from our experience in ending the Cold War.
“A major contribution to our understanding of how American readings of the course of the Cold War . . . have influenced American foreign policy since 1993. Matlock shows in convincing detail why these readings are fundamentally wrong and, in a reasoned argumentative voice, dangerous for the national interests of the United States.”—Allen Lynch, University of Virginia
“This book is as close as we may come to understanding the distortions ideology played in misunderstanding the Cold War and in applying those distortions thereafter. This is an extraordinary work which should become a standard reference for practitioners, scholars, and concerned citizens for decades to come.”—Gary Hart, Former United States Senator (Ret.), Co-chair, Commission on U.S.-Russian Relations
"Avoiding partisanship and personal agenda, Matlock uses his experience as a seasoned diplomat to deliver a powerful critique of US foreign policy over the last 30 years. Superpower Illusions is at times scathing, always insightful, and long overdue."—Susan Eisenhower, author of Partners in Space: US-Russian Cooperation after the Cold War
“A well written, clearly reasoned and thoroughly informed tour of the past half century of American diplomacy—including the roots of its successes and failures—led by a superbly qualified participant. A brilliant book.”—Sidney Drell, Stanford University
"A truly remarkable book, both wise and provocative, telling a sad yet instructive story of how the United States failed to exploit a triumph in the Cold War to build a new international order reflecting U.S. interests and principles."— Dimitri Simes, President, The Nixon Center
“….a book that the foreign policy elites of the United States would do well to read.”—Tim Bird, International Affairs 87:5
Publication Date: February 22, 2011
