The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law and Cornell University Press is pleased to announce the publication of Nuclear Statecraft, by Francis J. Gavin, which challenges key elements of the widely accepted narrative about the history of the atomic age and the consequences of the nuclear revolution. On the basis of recently declassified documents, Gavin reassesses the strategy of flexible response, the influence of nuclear weapons during the Berlin Crisis, the origins of and motivations for U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy, and the nuclear dangers we face today.

Professor Alan Kuperman, Strauss Center Distinguished Scholar, recently discussed the role of foreign policy in the presidential election with The University of Texas at Austin’s Elections 2012 blog. Professor Kuperman explains how President Obama and Governor Romney differ in their views of America’s place in the world. He then offers an insightful analysis of how the issue of Israel could affect the electoral calculus of the election.

The recent political season has brought back memories of Robert Strauss’s wonderful Texan quotes and role in American politics. An op-ed in the New York Times relates how Robert Strauss’s ability to work with James Baker III saved the presidential debate. In his speech at the democratic convention, Bill Clinton referred to one of Strauss’s jokes about politicians. Strauss’s legacy isn’t limited to domestic policy; a recent article about the elections in Venezuela quotes Strauss’s evaluation of Russian politics.

Friend of the Strauss Center, Zoltan Barany, recently published a seminal work on civil-military relations around the world; The Soldier and the Changing State: Building Democratic Armies in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Inspired by the effects of the U.S. decision to disband the Iraqi army, Barany examines the role of the military in democratizing and changing states. He argues that the military is the most important state institution because democracy cannot be consolidated if military elites do not support democracy. He supports this argument by looking at the army-building and democratization experiences of twenty-seven countries. This book is a must read for anyone interested in civil-military relations or democratization.