War by Other Means: Geoeconomics and Statecraft

by Robert D. Blackwill, Jennifer M. Harris

Overview

A Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2016

Today, nations increasingly carry out geopolitical combat through economic means. Policies governing everything from trade and investment to energy and exchange rates are wielded as tools to win diplomatic allies, punish adversaries, and coerce those in between. Not so in the United States, however. America still too often reaches for the gun over the purse to advance its interests abroad. The result is a playing field sharply tilting against the United States.

“Geoeconomics, the use of economic instruments to advance foreign policy goals, has long been a staple of great-power politics. In this impressive policy manifesto, Blackwill and Harris argue that in recent decades, the United States has tended to neglect this form of statecraft, while China, Russia, and other illiberal states have increasingly employed it to Washington’s disadvantage.”
—G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs

“A readable and lucid primer…The book defines the extensive topic and opens readers’ eyes to its prevalence throughout history…[Presidential] candidates who care more about protecting American interests would be wise to heed the advice of War by Other Means and take our geoeconomic toolkit more seriously.
—Jordan Schneider, Weekly Standard

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674979796
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	10/23/2017
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Sales rank:	280,515
Product dimensions:	6.60(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Robert D. Blackwill is Henry A. Kissinger Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Jennifer M. Harris is Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

1 What Is Geoeconomics? 19

2 Geoeconomics and the International System 33

3 Today's Leading Geoeconomic Instruments 49

4 Geoeconomics in Chinese Foreign Policy 93

5 Geoeconomic Strength in Beijing and Beyond 129

6 U.S. Foreign Policy and Geoeconomics in Historical Context 152

7 America's Geoeconomic Potential 179

8 The Geoeconomics of North America's Energy Revolution 204

9 American Foreign Policy in an Age of Economic Power 220

10 Geoeconomics, U.S. Grand Strategy, and American National Interests 251

Notes 259

Index 351

Editorial Reviews

Geoeconomics, the use of economic instruments to advance foreign policy goals, has long been a staple of great-power politics. In this impressive policy manifesto, Blackwill and Harris argue that in recent decades, the United States has tended to neglect this form of statecraft, while China, Russia, and other illiberal states have increasingly employed it to Washington’s disadvantage.

Foreign Affairs - G. John Ikenberry

War by Other Means is an important and interesting contribution to U.S. statecraft in the unipolar world.

H-Net Reviews - Christopher J. Fettweis

Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris do policymakers a service by reminding them of the importance of geoeconomic tools. In a world increasingly affected by economic power, their analysis deserves careful consideration.

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger

An urgent message that other countries are using economic measures to achieve their geopolitical objectives. Absent an effective U.S. response, we will increasingly be required to rely on military force to protect our vital interests.

John Deutch

In War by Other Means, Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris build a very persuasive case for why the U.S. should make much more vigorous use of its economic and financial muscle to advance its geopolitical interests. This book should be required reading for anyone involved in making foreign policy.

Liaquat Ahamed

A readable and lucid primer…The book defines the extensive topic and opens readers’ eyes to its prevalence throughout history…[Presidential] candidates who care more about protecting American interests would be wise to heed the advice of War by Other Means and take our geoeconomic toolkit more seriously.

Weekly Standard - Jordan Schneider

The economic aspect of foreign policy will be crucial to the next president’s success. She or he will need to reckon with Blackwill and Harris’s powerful arguments.

Lawrence H. Summers

A brilliant, comprehensive study of how economic measures have been—and should be—used to pursue geopolitical objectives. War by Other Means should be required reading for all presidential candidates and their foreign policy advisors.

General (Ret.) David H. Petraeus

Although this thoroughly researched book is designed more for students of international relations and policymakers than casual readers, it is worth buying. Confident about the American mission in the world, the book is a lesson about how creative thinking can promote our interests without risk to blood and treasure.

Washington Free Beacon - Tom Rogan

War by Other Means: Geoeconomics and Statecraft is [Blackwill and Harris’s] blueprint for how the United States national security apparatus can better wield the economic tools at its disposal. It is, in military parlance, about putting the big ‘E’ in the DIME (Diplomatic, Informational, Military, Economic) equation back into balance with the other ways in which a great power projects power.

National Interest - Nikolas K. Gvosdev

A readable and lucid primer…The book defines the extensive topic and opens readers’ eyes to its prevalence throughout history…[Presidential] candidates who care more about protecting American interests would be wise to heed the advice of War by Other Means and take our geoeconomic toolkit more seriously.
-- Jordan Schneider Weekly Standard

War by Other Means: Geoeconomics and Statecraft is [Blackwill and Harris’s] blueprint for how the United States national security apparatus can better wield the economic tools at its disposal. It is, in military parlance, about putting the big ‘E’ in the DIME (Diplomatic, Informational, Military, Economic) equation back into balance with the other ways in which a great power projects power.
-- Nikolas K. Gvosdev National Interest

Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris do policymakers a service by reminding them of the importance of geoeconomic tools. In a world increasingly affected by economic power, their analysis deserves careful consideration.
-- Dr. Henry A. Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State

A brilliant, comprehensive study of how economic measures have been—and should be—used to pursue geopolitical objectives. War by Other Means should be required reading for all presidential candidates and their foreign policy advisors.
-- General (Ret.) David H. Petraeus, Chairman, KKR Global Institute and former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency

The economic aspect of foreign policy will be crucial to the next president’s success. She or he will need to reckon with Blackwill and Harris’s powerful arguments.
-- Lawrence H. Summers, President Emeritus and Charles W. Eliot University Professor of Harvard University and former Secretary of the Treasury

An urgent message that other countries are using economic measures to achieve their geopolitical objectives. Absent an effective U.S. response, we will increasingly be required to rely on military force to protect our vital interests.
-- John Deutch, Emeritus Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and former Deputy Secretary of Defense

In War by Other Means, Robert Blackwill and Jennifer Harris build a very persuasive case for why the U.S. should make much more vigorous use of its economic and financial muscle to advance its geopolitical interests. This book should be required reading for anyone involved in making foreign policy.
-- Liaquat Ahamed, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Lords of Finance

Although this thoroughly researched book is designed more for students of international relations and policymakers than casual readers, it is worth buying. Confident about the American mission in the world, the book is a lesson about how creative thinking can promote our interests without risk to blood and treasure.
-- Tom Rogan Washington Free Beacon

Geoeconomics, the use of economic instruments to advance foreign policy goals, has long been a staple of great-power politics. In this impressive policy manifesto, Blackwill and Harris argue that in recent decades, the United States has tended to neglect this form of statecraft, while China, Russia, and other illiberal states have increasingly employed it to Washington’s disadvantage.
-- G. John Ikenberry Foreign Affairs

War by Other Means is an important and interesting contribution to U.S. statecraft in the unipolar world.
-- Christopher J. Fettweis H-Net Reviews

From the Publisher