The RAND Corporation (1989-2009): The Reconfiguration of Strategic Studies in the United States (The Sciences Po Series in International Relations and Political Economy) - Hardcover

Samaan, J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 023034092X ISBN 13: 9780230340923

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012

Synopsis

What happened then to the intellectuals who spent their life working and writing about the Cold War when the conflict ended in 1991? Looking at one of the most emblematic American think tanks in recent history, the RAND Corporation, Samaan provides key insights on the evolution of strategic studies in the US in the last two decades. Based on numerous interviews and exclusive archives, this is a detailed analysis of RAND's intellectual and corporate development. But beyond this specific case study, the book is more than a historical portray of a American research center. Through RAND and its relationship with the American military, the author seeks to understand the rules of the 'field' of strategic studies in the United States. Moreover this work allows the readers to better comprehend the way the elements driving the US defense policies since 1989 - the political uncertainty and its doctrinal consequences - shaped major international events in the last two decades.

About this title

Review:

"In an era of think tank booming around the world, it makes considerable sense to revisit and reassess the role of one of the 'grand-daddy' think tanks of the Western world. The role of the think tank has changed, and RAND is no exception. This study by Samaan reveals how the intent of critical and independent policy analysis associated with the stereotype of think tanks, is whittled and weaned into insipidity by the dynamics of federal funding, loosening ties to academe and the Washington DC 'revolving door' whereby the think tank becomes embedded as an institution of governmentality." - Diane Stone, professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick and Central European University

'Jean-Loup Samaan has written a thoughtful and probing analysis of the Rand Corporation and its influence in shaping US Strategic Studies in the post-Cold War era. His book is a must-read for those interested in how think tanks compete in the battle of ideas." - Donald Abelson, professor of Political Science, University of Western Ontario and author of A Capitol Idea: Think Tanks & US Foreign Policy

"It is rarely given to individuals - or to think tanks - to see themselves as others see them. Jean-Loup Samaan's intellectual history of RAND in the years since the end of the Cold War is an important contribution to the discussion about not only that institution, but the American version of Strategic Studies altogether." - Eliot Cohen, professor of Strategic Studies, Johns Hopkins University.

Book Description:

This book shows how the uncertainties of US defense policies since the fall of the USSR can be understood and accurately illustrated through an analysis of the evolution of the think tank community

About this edition

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 023034092X
• ISBN 13: 9780230340923
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 203