Dealing with Dictators
Ernest R. May and Philip D. Zelikow, eds., Dealing with Dictators: Dilemmas of U.S. Diplomacy and Intelligence Analysis, 1945-1990 (MIT Press, 2006)
Summary: A case-study approach to decision-making in geopolitics, centered on the question: How should the United States handle its relationships with countries ruled by bad people? Curated chapters on China, the Congo, Nicaragua, Iran, the Philippines, and Iraq.
Key Quote: "The cases illustrate the chronic dilemmas inhering [sic] in U.S. dealings with dictators not only in different periods but in different parts of the world." - p. 2
Bottom Line: Read this book to understand why and how the United States has interacted with unsavory regimes.
