Reviews and Endorsements

In this timely, judicious and thoughtful book, Charles Kupchan adds depth and dimension to our understanding of the United States’ foreign relations and the strategic choices now facing it. In tracing isolationism’s origins to the earliest days of the Republic and showing its iterations in successive generations, he reminds us of how powerful a force it has been—and remains. Essential reading both for those who are going to be in charge in the next years and for anyone who cares about the United States and the world.

Margaret MacMillan, Professor of History, University of Toronto and University of Oxford, and author of Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World

Comprehensive and objective, Kupchan’s Isolationism is a useful contribution to the history and contemporary understanding of American isolationism.

Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State

Isolationism is a deeply researched, fascinating look at how an urge to keep the world at bay has largely defined the United States and its foreign policy since the country’s founding.

Foreign Policy

Isolationism is a carefully researched, clearly presented study of American foreign policy that demonstrates the enduring power of American skepticism about open-ended international commitments while making the case for continued American engagement. By grounding his policy arguments in a careful review of American history, Kupchan not only strengthens his case but sets an example which other policymakers would be wise to follow.

Walter Russell Mead, Distinguished Fellow in Strategy and Statesmanship, Hudson Institute; Professor of Foreign Affairs, Bard College; and Global View Columnist, Wall Street Journal

The battle for the future of America’s foreign policy rages all around us. This learned, wise, and deeply engaged history of U.S. isolationist impulses from the founding up to today is a much-needed book, and the selective commitments and judicious retrenchments it calls for are recipes for good policymaking.

Odd Arne Westad, Professor of History and Global Affairs, Yale University, and author of The Cold War: A World History

This is a significant book. Kupchan has produced the first comprehensive study of American isolationism. He is totally fair-minded and unfailingly insightful in telling the story of isolationism from its origins at the founding of the Republic down to its resurgence at the outset of this new century. This is a book that everyone who cares about the past and present of American foreign policy should read.

John M. Cooper, Professor Emeritus of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison

At a time when the way forward in U.S. foreign relations seems more uncertain than ever, Kupchan takes a timely, detailed, and unsparing look at the role of isolationism in the broad sweep of U.S. history. The general reader, scholar, and policymaker can all profit from this compelling account.

Mary E. Sarotte, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Distinguished Professor of Historical Studies, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and author of The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall

At a time when many are urging America to retreat internationally, Kupchan’s illuminating history of U.S. foreign policy reminds us of isolationism’s pitfalls as well as its continuing allure. Scholars and policymakers alike will benefit from this book’s trenchant analysis of America’s past and wise counsel about how to forge a more balanced, realistic, and enduring foreign policy going forward.

Peter Trubowitz, Professor of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

Charles Kupchan reminds us that a globally assertive foreign policy is more the exception than the norm in American history. Even those who do not fully agree with his arguments will find this book sharply argued, provocative, and engaging.

Hal Brands, Henry A. Kissinger Distinguished Professor of Global Affairs, SAIS

Astute political history.

Kirkus Reviews

Kupchan . . . offers an erudite and evenhanded study of the isolationist impulse in American foreign policy. . . . Policy makers and foreign affairs scholars will want to take note.

Publishers Weekly

Isolationism arrives at a prescient moment as Biden stands to unstitch Trump’s ‘America First’ handiwork.

Financial Times