The US went from being a minor power when it declared its independence to becoming the sole superpower for a period after the end of the Cold War. The course of their grand strategy therefore allows us to draw many conclusions about the grand strategy of both weak and powerful actors. At the same time, the book focuses on the peculiarities of American grand strategy. During their first century and a half, the US resorted to consciously encouraging immigration to promote their rise in international politics. In the 20th century, they combined realpolitik with their liberal ideology to develop international institutions and, after 1945, the alliances with which they won the Cold War. However, American grand strategy also had its missteps, mainly in the Third World, causing intense anti-Americanism. The aim of this book is to analyze the course of American grand strategy from its beginnings in the 18th century to the present day in an objective, scientific manner.

Charalambos Papasotiriou is a professor of International Relations and Strategic Studies in the Department of International, European, and Regional Studies at Panteion University and president of the Board of Directors of the Institute of International Relations. He graduated with honors from Oxford (Faculty of Philosophy, Politics, and Economics) and received his doctorate from Stanford (Department of Political Science).