Monica Duffy Toft Libros

Exploring the complexities of civil wars, the book delves into the multifaceted causes of large-scale political violence. It highlights how these conflicts often arise from struggles over essential resources like housing, jobs, and arable land, as well as political battles concerning rights and representation. The narrative emphasizes the brutal and protracted nature of such wars, providing insight into their impact on societies.

Tracing the entire history of American foreign policy, Dying by the Sword focuses on how the US came to prioritize the use of military tools over other tools of statecraft, including diplomacy and economic policy. It demonstrates that since the end of the Cold War, the US has dramatically increased its use of force abroad despite fewer international threats. The US's hyper-militaristic foreign policy, which the authors term "kinetic diplomacy", threatens to undermine not just America's leadership role, its credibility, and its domestic policy priorities, but more broadly international peace and security.