Francis J. Gavin is the Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and the inaugural Director of the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Previously, he was the first Frank Stanton Chair in Nuclear Security Policy Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Tom Slick Professor of International Affairs and the Director of the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas. He is the Chair of the Editorial Board for the Texas National Security Review. His book Thinking Historically: A Guide to Statecraft and Strategy (Yale University Press) is forthcoming.

Note from the Series Editor Author Acknowledgements Introduction I. War and conquest in the age of scarcity II. The taming of scarcity and the end of empire III. The problems of plenty IV. Unspoken assumptions, time lags and historical anamnesis V. American grand strategy in a world of plenty Conclusion Notes