Tides of Fortune: The Rise and Decline of Great Militaries

On Wednesday, October 29, The Clements-Strauss Asia Policy Program hosted Zack Cooper for a talk on his latest book Tides of Fortune: The Rise and Decline of Great Militaries.

Zack Cooper is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies US strategy in Asia, including alliance dynamics and US-China competition. He also teaches at Princeton University and serves as chair of the board of the Open Technology Fund. He is currently writing a book for Yale University Press that explains how militaries change during power shifts. Dr. Cooper has published research reports on a number of aspects of US strategy and alliances in Asia. He has also co-authored several books and written articles for academic journals and popular press, including International Security, Security Studies, Foreign Affairs, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, among other outlets. Dr. Cooper graduated from Princeton University with a PhD and an MA in security studies, and an MPA in international relations. He received a BA in public policy from Stanford University. 

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Tides of Fortune: The Rise and Decline of Great Militaries

Drawing on a decade of research and on his experience at the White House and the Pentagon, Cooper outlines a novel explanation for how militaries change as they rise and decline. Tides of Fortune examines the paths of six great powers of the twentieth century, tracking how national leaders adjusted their defense objectives, strategies, and investments in response to perceived shifts in relative power. All these militaries followed a common pattern, and their experiences shed new light on both China’s recent military modernization and America’s potential responses. 

The Asia Policy Program is a joint effort of the Clements Center for National Security and the Strauss Center for International Security and Law.