Jeremi Suri: How to Make America Great Again

In a world rife with political and economic turmoil, President Obama’s re-election campaign has been put to the test. From the rolling economic crisis in Europe, to the intensifying conflict in Syria, to the U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, a daunting array of global issues have complicated the 2012 presidential election.

Recent headlines from around the world reinforce a reality for Obama and any of his successors: Nation-building can only work when the people own it. Jeremi Suri, professor in the Department of History and the LBJ School of Public Affairs, argues that the United States has too often forgotten this truth over the course of its history of foreign policy.

This is one of the five principles of successful nation-building that Suri outlines in his book “Liberty’s Surest Guardian: American Nation-Building from the Founders to Obama” (Free Press, Sept. 2011). In what he calls “the five Ps,” he draws a new model for building successful relationships overseas and abroad.

The book, now available in paperback, combs through more than 200 years of U.S. policy to explain the successes and failures of nation-building operations.

From Reconstruction in the South after the Civil War, to the ongoing rebuilding of Iraq, Suri draws lessons from past mistakes and offers a plan for moving forward.

Although “Liberty’s Surest Guardian” focuses on politics and foreign policy, the patterns of change apply to all areas of life, Suri says. In this eight-part Knowledge Matters video series, watch him discuss the importance of nation-building – and why dreaming big is a critical component of societal progress.