The Will to Lead: America's Indispensable Role in the Global Fight for Freedom

From the former prime minister of Denmark comes an impassioned plea to persuade Americans to elect a president who will restore America to its proper role of global leader, instead of "leading from behind."

Anders Fogh Rasmussen is unabashedly pro-American, a fierce defender of freedom, and a public figure unafraid to speak his mind. The Will to Lead is his defense of American leadership in the global struggle for freedom and democracy. A critic of President Barack Obama’s policy of "leading from behind" in foreign affairs, Rasmussen argues that this strategy has emboldened Russia and China—and made the world more dangerous and unstable in the past eight years.

Rasmussen reviews current geopolitical events—the Arab Spring, the Iranian nuclear deal, the Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine—and critically analyzes the strategy and decision-making of Obama and his secretaries of state John Kerry and Hillary Clinton. Contrasting them with previous American leaders, Rasmussen argues that, like it or not, America is the world’s indispensable world leader—and must act as the world’s policeman.

Rasmussen looks to past presidents Truman, Kennedy, and Reagan to identify the indispensable components of presidential leadership on the global stage, and shares his personal assessments of leaders he has come to know personally, including George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Tony Blair, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Most important, he offers a bold plan for a strengthened American and European alliance, joined by like-minded liberal democracies such as Japan and Australia, to create a military, political, and economic bulwark against the forces of tyranny.

Hard-hitting yet fair, drawn from history and his own experience, The Will to Lead is a thoughtful contribution to American politics, full of wisdom, for politically involved Americans on either side of the aisle.

“I have a clear message and plea to the American people: The world needs a policeman. The only capable, reliable, and desirable candidate for that position is the United States.”

In the next few years, the future world order, and America’s place in it, will be determined. In all likelihood, it will fall to the next US president to make the crucial decisions that will define that future. If the United States withdraws to concentrate on “nation building at home,” then the forces fighting against liberal democracy and our way of life will gain ground, and America will be faced with the prospect of stronger foes, weaker friends, and a less secure world.

A fierce advocate of freedom, Anders Fogh Rasmussen is unabashedly pro-American and is not afraid to speak his mind. The Will to Lead is his timely and significant defense of American leadership in the global struggle for democracy. A sharp critic of the policy of “leading from behind” in foreign affairs, Rasmussen—a former prime minister of Denmark and secretary-general of NATO—argues that over the past eight years this strategy has emboldened America’s enemies and authoritarian forces—and has made the world more dangerous and unstable.

Reviewing current geopolitical events—the Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war, the Iranian nuclear deal, the North Korean nuclear threat, the Russian annexation of Crimea and invasion of Ukraine—Rasmussen concludes that the world is on fire and that there is a link between this outbreak and America’s reluctance to use hard power. If the United States retreats, then it will leave a vacuum that will be filled by the bad guys. Like it or not, America is the world’s indispensable world leader—and must embrace this role for the sake of its higher interests.

Rasmussen looks to past presidents—Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald Reagan—to identify the components of presidential leadership necessary on the global stage, and shares his personal assessments of leaders he has come to know personally, including George W. Bush, Vladimir Putin, Angela Merkel, Tony Blair, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. Most important, he offers a bold plan for a strengthened American and European alliance, joined by like-minded liberal democracies such as Japan and Australia, to create a military, political, and economic bulwark against the forces of tyranny.

Hard-hitting yet fair, drawn from history and Rasmussen’s own experience, The Will to Lead is a thoughtful contribution to American politics, full of wisdom for politically involved Americans on either side of the aisle.