John J. Tierney Jr.

In my own view, the most definitive exploration of the causation of timeless warfare came out in 1959 by the late (deceased 2013) Kenneth N. Waltz, Man, The State, and War. The originator of the classic “neo-realist” theory of world politics, Waltz approached war from the vantage point of three distinct categories (“images”) that had…

Several years ago, I handed out to my class a recent (then) Library of Congress description of military invasions of other counties undertaken by the United States. Before handing it out, I asked them how many there were or how many they had knowledge of. Their answers all highlighted Vietnam, Korea, and, certainly, Germany, although…

Having already listed the “Top Twelve Statements” and the “Worst Six Episodes” in U.S. Foreign Policy, it is time now to describe the “Top Ten Decisions” within the same subject, as to both causes and consequences. As before, it is imperative to mention how “subjective” these are, that they are not necessarily rated and that…

All the “Social Sciences” have certain “concepts” that identify, clarify, or define their social/political boundaries and separate them from their competitors. The world of sociology, for example, will use concepts such as race, tribe, nation, etc. that dominate its own field; economics and political science do the same, etc. This doesn’t mean that the various…

In effect, the U.S. is at war with Russia now and has been since the first shipment of aid to Ukraine arrived. There is no military action between the two, no declaration of war, but effectively we are with one side in a war. This has a number of historic precedents, and we should learn…

The Past as Prologue: “Over There” in American History, a new book by Dr. John Tierney, has been released by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. About the book The Past as Prologue (“Over There” in American History) is a collection of essays (162) written between 2015 and 2021. The central theme, from the main title, is…

Please note that the views expressed by our faculty members do not necessarily reflect the views of The Institute of World Politics. The title herein was once a widely-used slogan throughout the political globe to distinguish those who might rather live under Communism than die fighting it. While the phrase itself is outdated it shows,…

There are two distinguishing traits regarding Americans at war: 1) how Americans have viewed war as a “total” event, allowing for little or no compromise or retreat toward destruction of the enemy, and 2) the lack of foresight and preparation prior to the event. The war against Japan, from Pearl Harbor to the end, displayed…

The word “again” is included in the title since this country (USA) was once referred to as a “superpower” after the end of the Cold War (1991) but has since relinquished that title either by choice or by chance. If by choice means deliberation: that both political leaders and the population have chosen to concentrate…

That the “identification” issue is at the heart of America’s problems, at first glance, seems to be a simplified and misleading appreciation of the many and varied issues that have plagued the country from the beginning. Yet “identity” has always been the issue, again, from the beginning. While generally unknown to the public, the American…