The world is at an inflection point. Advancing technologies are creating new opportunities and challenges. Great demographic changes are occurring rapidly, with significant consequences. Governance everywhere is in disarray. A new world is emerging. These are some of the key insights to emerge from a series of interdisciplinary roundtables and global expert contributions hosted by the Hoover Institution. In these pages, George P. Shultz and James Timbie examine a range of issues shaping our present and future, region by region. Concrete proposals address migration, reversing the decline of K-12 education, updating the social safety net, maintaining economic productivity, protecting our democratic processes, improving national security, and more. Meeting these transformational challenges will require international cooperation, constructive engagement, and strong governance. The United States is well positioned to ride this wave of change-and lead other nations in doing the same.

The American ability to inspire-which we call exceptionalism-is not automatic. It takes continued efforts to be realized in a changing world. In this book, scholars at the Hoover Institution-professors, thinkers, and practitioners of global renown in their respective fields-offer a series of accessible policy ideas for civic, economic, and security architecture that would shore up the long-term foundations of American strengths. Blueprint for America takes a beyond-the-Beltway look at the basic policies that should be prioritized by the next president and Congress. Economists Michael Boskin, John Cogan, John Cochrane, and John Taylor address questions of entitlement reform, deficits, monetary reform, national debt, and regulatory and tax reform. Scott Atlas draws on his experience in the practice of medicine to tackle the Affordable Care Act and propose incentive-based health care reforms. Cochrane returns to reframe the hot-button political discourses on immigration and international trade. Eric Hanushek addresses the current performance--and reform--of K-12 education. Retired admiral James Ellis, retired general Jim Mattis, and Kori Schake offer their visions of how to restore America's national security through proactive and realistic agenda setting. Ellis follows with a rethink of energy security strategy in an era of abundance and James Goodby expounds on the country's practice of diplomacy in a time of turbulent transition. George Shultz draws from his experiences in government, industry, and academia to lead off each section with a range of clear-eyed observations on spending, human resources, foreign policy, and, in conclusion, the art of governance. The spirit of Blueprint for America is positive and grounded in first principles, offering ideas, diagnoses, solutions, and road maps for the long view.

The Nuclear Dilemma in a Changing World. The War That Must Never Be Fought explores how nuclear deterrence should be understood seventy years after the first nuclear tests. These essays, edited by George P. Shultz and James E. Goodby, challenge outdated deterrence theories and show a clear need to re-examine notions from the Cold War that no longer fit present circumstances. They argue that a world without nuclear weapons is a desirable objective that is in the national security interests of the United States. The contributors examine nuclear deterrence from the vantage points of nations in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, all of which have some form of security relationship with the United States, either cooperative or competitive. They explain, for instance, why agreement by Poland and Germany on nuclear deterrence and nuclear arms control is necessary if Europeans are to be proactive in reducing nuclear weapons in Europe and. They explore the strategic views, and resulting nuclear policies, of India and Pakistan to determine the possibilities for decoupling nuclear weapons from deterrence. They also tell why successfully reducing and ultimately eliminating the nuclear threat must be based on a combination of regional and global joint enterprises. The authors conclude with suggestions that might lead to a successful joint enterprise on security among the world's nuclear powers.

George P. Shultz recounts a lifetime of experiences in government, business, and academia and describes how those experiences have shaped the way he thinks about the world. In his plainspoken manner, he provides the reader with keys to understanding how he helped bring the nuclear disarmament movement into the mainstream of American policy discussions, why he urges his Republican Party colleagues to adopt measures to address climate change as an insurance policy for the future, why leaders must learn to govern over diversity, and more. Far more than a simple biography, Learning from Experience makes a unique contribution to political, social, and economic thought, offering the author's reflections on experiences that have influenced his worldview. Ranging far beyond the realm of diplomacy, Shultz's account illuminates America's race relations, defines a down-to-earth economic philosophy built on free markets and fair treatment of labor, and identifies the strengths and weaknesses of presidential leadership as observed during his government service, including four cabinet posts, in the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan administrations.

Andrei Sakharov holds an honored place in the pantheon of the world's greatest scientists, reformers, and champions of human rights. But his embrace of human rights did not come through a sudden conversion; he came to it in stages. Drawing from a 2014 Hoover Institution conference focused on Sakharov's life and principles, this book tells the compelling story of his metamorphosis from a distinguished physical scientist into a courageous, outspoken dissident humanitarian voice. His extraordinary life saw him go from playing the leading role in designing and building the most powerful thermonuclear weapon (the so-called hydrogen bomb) ever exploded to demanding an end to the testing of such weapons and their eventual elimination. The essays detail his transformation, as he appealed first to his scientific colleagues abroad and then tomankind at large, for solidarity in resolving the growing threats to human survival-many of which stemmed from science and technology. Ultimately, the distinguished contributors show how the work and thinking of this eminent Russian nuclear physicist and courageous human rights campaigner can help find solutions to the nuclear threats of today.

In a rich and varied career, George P. Shultz has aided presidents, confronted national and international crises, and argued passionately that the United States has a vital stake in promoting democratic values and institutions. In speeches, articles, congressional testimony, and conversations with world leaders, he has helped shape policy and public opinion on topics ranging from technology and terrorism to drugs and climate change. The result is a body of work that has influenced the decisions of nations and leaders, as well as the lives of ordinary people. In Thinking About the Future, Shultz has collected and revisited key writings, applying his past thinking to America's most pressing contemporary problems. Each chapter includes new commentary from the author, providing context, color, and behind-the-scenes glimpses of how decisions are made in the halls of power. In the more than half a century since Shultz entered public life, the world has changed dramatically. But he remains guided by the belief that "you can learn about the future-or at least relate to it-by studying the past and identifying principles that have continuing application to our lives and our world.

Western broadcasts had a remarkable impact in the USSR and Eastern Europe during the cold war reaching both mass audiences and key elites. The effectiveness of these broadcasts was clearly attested to by the massive resources the communist regimes spent in trying to counter them.Communicating with the World of Islam draws from the lessons learned in the cold war broadcasting experience to suggest the best ways of organizing U.S. efforts to communicate with Islamic people around the globe. Drawn from discussions at the seminar "Communicating with the Islamic World," sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, this report examines the impact of the Voice of America, Radio Liberty, the BBC, Radio Free Europe, and other broadcasting tools had and suggests how the United States can use these instruments today to counter extremism effectively, promote democracy, and improve understanding of the United States in the Islamic world. It details current broadcasting efforts into Islamic countries and the Muslim communities of Europe and explains each of the critical factors necessary to influence the world of Islam in a positive direction, such as stressing women's content programming, maintaining pressure on the rulers of Qatar over the content and programming of Al Jazeera, and keeping news content candid, tailored to local audiences, and unsparingly accurate.

Facing the risks and potentially deadly consequences of nuclear weapons and nuclear power Nuclear energy can provide great benefits to society; in the form of nuclear weapons, however, it can cause death and destruction on an unparalleled scale. The challenge is how to deal with the catastrophic risk of the nuclear enterprise so as to preserve its positive elements and make economic sense. In this book, an expert group of contributors attempts to answer two key questions facing the nuclear enterprise: (1) What can and should be done to improve operations and public understanding of the risks and consequences of major incidents? (2) How can informed scientists, economists, and journalists interact more effectively in understanding and reporting to the public on the most important issues affecting risks, consequences, and costs? Drawn from a conference held at Stanford University's Hoover Institution on October 3-4, 2011, the papers presented in The Nuclear Enterprise were prepared by specialists on various aspects of this challenging topic, including technical safety, management operations, regulatory measures, and the importance of accurate communication by the media. It is their hope that the findings of the conference will contribute to discussion and then actions to better contain and eliminate growing global dangers.

Drawn from the Hoover Institution's Shultz-Stephenson Task Force on Energy Policy January 2010 conference, this book discusses critical energy issues including, energy and synthetic biology, cap and trade and carbon tax policies, energy efficiency, international energy relationships, and other key topics. The contributors present a range of ideas and recommendations that might improve the performance of the United States in responding to the energy challenge.

Facing the risks and potentially deadly consequences of nuclear weapons and nuclear powerNuclear energy can provide great benefits to society; in the form of nuclear weapons, however, it can cause death and destruction on an unparalleled scale. The challenge is how to deal with the catastrophic risk of the nuclear enterprise so as to preserve its positive elements and make economic sense. In this book, an expert group of contributors attempts to answer two key questions facing the nuclear enterprise: (1) What can and should be done to improve operations and public understanding of the risks and consequences of major incidents? (2) How can informed scientists, economists, and journalists interact more effectively in understanding and reporting to the public on the most important issues affecting risks, consequences, and costs? Drawn from a conference held at Stanford University's Hoover Institution on October 3-4, 2011, the papers presented in The Nuclear Enterprise were prepared by specialists on various aspects of this challenging topic, including technical safety, management operations, regulatory measures, and the importance of accurate communication by the media. It is their hope that the findings of the conference will contribute to discussion and then actions to better contain and eliminate growing global dangers.

Drawn from presentations made at the Hoover Institution's October 2007 conference, this collection of essays examines the practical steps necessary to address the current security challenges of nuclear weapons and to move toward the Reykjavik goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons. The distinguished group of contributors includes former officials of the past six administrations--Republican and Democratic--along with senior scholar and scientific experts on nuclear issues.

THE FUTURE OF RELIABLE AND SECURE ELECTRIC POWER

Providing reliable and secure electric power to meet the growing demands of this century, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, is a daunting challenge. The situation has given rise to increased interest in the potential for distributed power systems (DPS): a combination of distributed sources of power production and distributed energy storage. This study examines the economic, environmental, and energy security case for DPS.

Scholars from the Brookings Institution's Energy Security Initiative and the Hoover Institution's Task Force on Energy Policy offer recommendations for ensuring the security and sustainability of our electricity system now and for future generations through the greater deployment of DPS. Their report provides a comprehensive survey of the current technology and policy landscape of DPS and offers suggestions for its most effective use in civilian and military settings, along with warnings on its possible pitfalls. They discuss the current economic, environmental, and energy security costs and benefits of DPS, the policies and regulations currently in place to promote DPS and their effectiveness, the potential benefits of increased penetration of DPS and the barriers to achieving them, and what federal and state governments can do to further encourage DPS.

CONTRIBUTORS: John Banks, Jeremy Carl, David Fedor, Kevin Massy, Pedram Mokrian, Jelena Simjanovic, David Slayton, Amy Guy Wagner, Lisa Wood

At their October 1986 meeting in Reykjavik, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev agreed on the need to eliminate nuclear weapons. That historic meeting ultimately led to the end of the cold war. "Since that time, the nature of the nuclear threat in the world has changed, but the twenty-year-old lessons of Reykjavik may well help us achieve the goal of a modern world free of nuclear weapons," said former secretary of state George P. Shultz. Implications of the Reykjavik Summit on Its Twentieth Anniversary: Conference Report (Hoover Institution Press, 2007) contains essays drawn from presentations at the 2006 Hoover Institution conference on the legacy of the Reykjavik meeting. The contributors examine a range of topics including the implications of the summit for current nuclear arms control efforts, President Reagan's nuclear legacy, and a key lesson learned at Reykjavik: the importance of negotiating with enemies. Along with these insightful essays, the book includes the declassified official transcript of the discussions between Reagan and Gorbachev at Reykjavik as well as official Soviet documents. The Soviet documents, now available in the Hoover Archives, provide insight into Soviet preparations for the summit, including key positions and an assessment of their research and development with respect to nuclear weapons relative to the United States. Taken as a whole, the contributions in this collection reassert the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and underscore the need for new, practical measures to achieve that goal.

Drawn from presentations made at the Hoover Institution's October 2007 conference, this collection of essays examines the practical steps necessary to address the current security challenges of nuclear weapons and to move toward the Reykjavik goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons. The distinguished group of contributors includes former officials of the past six administrations--Republican and Democratic--along with senior scholar and scientific experts on nuclear issues.

Former Nixon and Reagan cabinet member George Shultz offers his views on how to govern more effectively, get our economy back on track, take advantage of new opportunities in the energy field, combat the use of addictive drugs, apply a strategic overview to diplomacy, and identify necessary steps to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. If we can successfully handle each of these issues, Shultz explains, we in the United States and people in the rest of the world will have the prospect of a better future.

What are the keys to good economic policy? George P. Shultz and John B. Taylor draw from their several decades of experience at the forefront of national economic policy making to show how market fundamentals beat politically popular government interventions-be they from Democrats or Republicans-as a recipe for success. Choose Economic Freedom reconstructs debates from the 1960s and 1970s about the use of wage and price controls as tools of policy, showing how brilliant economists can hold diametrically opposed views about the wisdom of using government intervention to spur the economy. Speeches and documents from the era include a recently unearthed memo from Arthur Burns, Federal Reserve chair, in 1971, in which he argues in favor of controls. Under Burns's guidance and in the face of stubborn inflation, Nixon introduced wage and price guidelines and freezes. But over the long run, these became a drag on the economy and ultimately failed. It wasn't until the Reagan administration that these controls were reversed, resulting in a vibrant economy. The words of iconic economist Milton Friedman-whose "free to choose" ethos inspired the free-market revolution of the Reagan era-along with lessons Shultz and Taylor learned from the front lines, demonstrate that tried-and-true economic policy works.

This book examines the dangers of continuing government bailouts and offers alternative strategies designed to produce growth based on the vigor of the private sector with inflation under control. The expert authors show that it is indeed possible to explain the causes of the crisis in understandable terms and clarify why resolving the bailout problem is esseHow Do We Make Failure Tolerable?The American people are clearly upset about the massive government bailouts of faltering organizations and the consequent commitment of taxpayer dollars-as well as the heavy involvement of the federal government in private sector activities. How do we approach a problem of this magnitude? The key question, which George Shultz presents at the outset, is: How do we make failure tolerable? In other words, if clear and credible measures can be put into place that convince everybody that failure will be allowed, then the expectations of bailouts will recede and perhaps even disappear. Perhaps more important, we would also get rid of the risk-inducing behavior that even implicit government guarantees bring about. In Ending Government Bailouts as We Know Them, a team of expert contributors examine the dangers of continuing government bailouts and offer constructive alternatives designed to both resolve the current bailout problem and prevent future crises. The other contributors follow up on Shultz's premise with discussions on a range of key topics. They begin with the nature of systemic risk-particularly in the experience of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy-and the reforms that financial firms can implement, whether or not required by government regulatory agencies. They also explore in detail the two main alternatives to government bailouts in the case of a failing financial firm: bankruptcy versus resolution authority. The book concludes with a summary of the commentary on the chapters by formal discussants and the audience at the conference, ranging from constructive critiques to strong endorsements to ideas for future research.ntial to preventing future crises.

The mortal danger of nuclear weapons is unique in its terrifying potential for devastation on an unprecedented and unimaginable scale. In this book, Sidney D. Drell and James E. Goodby--each with more than twenty years' experience in national security issues both in public and private capacities--review the main policy issues surrounding nonproliferation of nuclear weapons. They address the specific actions that the community of nations--with American leadership--should take to confront and turn back the nuclear danger that imperils humanity. The nuclear genie, say the authors, cannot be put back in the bottle. Our most urgent task as a nation today is to successfully manage, contain, and reduce the grave danger of nuclear weapons--whether in the hands of adversaries or friendly states. This book hopes to stimulate active public dialogue on this important subject.

Drawn from presentations at the Hoover Institution's conference on the twentieth anniversary of the Reykjavik summit, this collection of essays examines the legacy of that historic meeting between President Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The contributors discuss the new nuclear era and what the lessons of Reykjavik can mean for today's nuclear arms control efforts.

""Apartheid South Africa was on fire around me.""

So begins the memoir of Career Foreign Service Officer Edward J. Perkins, the first black United States ambassador to South Africa. In 1986, President Ronald Reagan gave him the unparalleled assignment: dismantle apartheid without violence.

As he fulfilled that assignment, Perkins was scourged by the American press, despised by the Afrikaner government, hissed at by white South African citizens, and initially boycotted by black South African revolutionaries, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu. His advice to President-elect George H. W. Bush helped modify American policy and hasten the release of Nelson Mandela and others from prison.

Perkins's up-by-your-bootstraps life took him from a cotton farm in segregated Louisiana to the white elite Foreign Service, where he became the first black officer to ascend to the top position of director general.

This is the story of how one man turned the page of history.

Ronald Reagan loved to tell stories. Sometimes he used them to break the ice, or to prove a point, but very often he used them to inspire, to uplift, and to remind his listeners of what matters most in life. Recently, in the archives of the Reagan Library, researcher Kiron Skinner unearthed a trove of handwritten Reagan manuscripts from the late 1970s, over 650 in all, which included some priceless examples of Reagan's storytelling abilities. "Stories in His Own Hand" reproduces the best of these deeply personal anecdotes.

Skinner, along with longtime Reagan aides and scholars Annelise and Martin Anderson, has carefully documented the extent of Reagan's manuscripts, which originated as radio transcripts. Earlier, in the bestselling "Reagan, In His Own Hand," the editors compiled a broad range of Reagan's policy-oriented essays from this collection, showing an astonishing breadth of vision concerning nearly every issue he would face as president. Here they reveal a different Ronald Reagan: not the political but the personal man, not the executive but the teacher.

Here is Reagan on men and women, life and death, family and friends. Here is a man who loved to tell a story to make us all stop, listen, and think about what it means to be human.

Drawing from their experience as government insiders, George P. Shultz and Kenneth W. Dam show how economic policy is shaped at the highest levels of government. They reveal the interconnections between economic, social, and international policy, covering issues such as the advocacy system and the role of the individual in shaping policy. A new chapter, 'A Changed World,' explores the various influences of our increasingly global economy on economic strategy. With rare candor, authority and breadth of vision, Shultz and Dam have produced a brilliant introduction to economic policy, its principles, and practice. "A model of brevity and lucidity ...[Economic Policy Beyond the Headlines] incorporates a unique and rewarding blend of economic reasoning with a high level of political awareness ...enriched by the wide personal experience in government of the authors."--Albert T. Sommers, Across the Board "[Shultz and Dam] help foreign readers to understand why the world looks so different from Washington...This book should provide the model."--The Economist "A wise and valuable book showing great insight into the realities of economic policy making."--Henry A. Kissinger

Hidden in the archives of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library for more than a decade, the writings contained in Reagan, In His Own Hand redefine the way we think about American history of the past quarter century and about the fortieth American president. By revealing an active mind wrestling with the problems of a sluggish economy, social pathologies, welfare reform, and the Cold War struggle with the Soviet Union, these never-before-seen documents, many reproduced in his own handwriting, prove Reagan to be both the visionary and intellectual powerhouse behind his administration's landmark policies.

Drawn from the third in a series of conferences the Hoover Institution at Stanford University on the nuclear legacy of the cold war, this report examines the importance of deterrence, from its critical function in the cold war to its current role. Recognizing that today's international environment is radically different from that which it was during the cold war, the need is pressing to reassess the role of nuclear weapons in deterrence in the world of today and to look ahead to the future.

"The Strategy of Campaigning" explores the political careers of Ronald Reagan and Boris Yeltsin, two of the most galvanizing and often controversial political figures of our time. Both men overcame defeat early in their political careers and rose to the highest elected offices in their respective countries. The authors demonstrate how and why Reagan and Yeltsin succeeded in their political aspirations, despite--or perhaps because of--their apparent "policy extremism": that is, their advocacy of policy positions far from the mainstream. The book analyzes the viability of policy extremism as a political strategy that enables candidates to forge new coalitions and outflank conventional political allegiances.

Kiron K. Skinner is Associate Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Carnegie Mellon University, a Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution, and a member of the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel and the National Security Education Board. Serhiy Kudelia is Lecturer of Politics at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Ukraine and advisor to Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine. Bruce Bueno de Mesquita is Julius Silver Professor and Director of the Alexander Hamilton Center for Political Economy at New York University and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. Condoleezza Rice is on a leave of absence from Stanford University, where she was a Professor of Political Science and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. She is currently serving as U.S. Secretary of State.