Joshua Shifrinson
Biographic Data
| ID | 1599854 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joshua Shifrinson |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joshua |
| FAMILY NAME | Shifrinson |
| SIGNATURE | SHIFRINSON J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Boston University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-1085-5021 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 27 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 46 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 27 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Special issue
The first decades of the twenty-first century have seen existing alliances stress-tested and new alignments between great powers and other states emerge. We have entered a new and complex period of geopolitics, but with arguments and evidence informed by a particular, and perhaps singular, period of geopolitics. Accordingly, the collection of articles in this special issue revisit core issues of alliance politics in order to advance scholarly and…
Evaluating Nato Enlargement
This book offers a nuanced discussion of the merits and drawbacks of NATO enlargement across the different actors involved
Revisiting Insularity and Expansion
What is the relationship between insularity—a state’s separation from other states via large bodies of water—and expansion? The received wisdom, prominent in (though not exclusive to) realist theories, holds that insularity constrains expansion by making conquest difficult. We contend, by contrast, that this received wisdom faces important limits. Focusing on U.S. expansion via means short of conquest, we interrogate the underlying theoretical lo…
Squaring the Circle on Spheres of Influence
Strategy on the Upward Slope
When a great power rises, what strategies does it adopt and why? Despite substantial interest in these questions due to concerns surrounding the rise of China and concomitant decline of the United States, research on rising state grand strategy remains underdeveloped. Not only do analysts lack a consistent way of describing how risers’ grand strategies vary, but insight into the drivers of rising state strategy remains inchoate. Accordingly, this…
The Authors Respond – Joshua Shifrinson
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Response to T.V. Paul’s Review of Rising Titans, Falling Giants
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Nato enlargement and US foreign policy
Evaluating Nato enlargement
Neo-Primacy and the Pitfalls of US Strategy toward China
Over the last half decade, a bipartisan consensus has emerged in US foreign policy circles calling for sustained competition with China. The ostensible goals of this competition are to protect the
Partnership or Predation? How Rising States Contend with Declining Great Powers
International relations scholarship overwhelmingly expects that relatively rising states will threaten and challenge declining great powers. In practice, however, rising states can also cooperate with and support declining powers. What explains the rising state's choice of policy? When do rising states support or prey on declining great powers, and why do such strategies vary across time and space? The answer depends on the rising state's broader…
The rise of China, balance of power theory and US national security
When and why might a rising China challenge the power and security of a relatively declining United States? Conventional wisdom argues that China – like other rising states – is apt to adopt an increasingly ambitious strategy that imperils US interests as its relative power grows. Drawing on balance of power theory, I instead argue that the threat of Chinese predation is overstated. Rising in a crowded geopolitical neighbourhood, China faces ince…
Eastbound and down
When and why did the United States first contemplate NATO’s enlargement into Eastern Europe? Existing research generally portrays U.S. backing for NATO enlargement as a product of the policy debates and particular beliefs inside the William Clinton administration (1993–2001) starting in the mid-1990s. New evidence, however, shows that U.S. backing for enlargement began earlier, under the preceding George H.W. Bush administration (1989–1993). More…
Rising Titans, Falling Giants
As a rising great power flexes its muscles on the political-military scene it must examine how to manage its relationships with states suffering from decline; and it has to do so in a careful and strategic manner. In Rising Titans, Falling Giants Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson focuses on the policies that rising states adopt toward their declining competitors in response to declining states' policies, and what that means for the relationship betw…
How long until midnight? Intelligence-policy relations and the United States response to the Israeli nuclear program, 1959–1985
Why did the United States fail to stop Israeli acquisition of nuclear weapons? Existing research argues that patrons such as the U.S. should have an easy time halting proliferation by militarily and economically vulnerable clients. Nevertheless, Israel acquired nuclear weapons with relatively little American opposition. Utilizing extensive primary source research, we argue that problematic intelligence-policy relations hindered U.S. efforts to ar…
It’s a trap!
Should American policymakers worry that the United States’ allies might entrap the U.S. into costly foreign conflicts? Policymakers and a growing number of academics say no; the United States can craft diplomatic deals and restrain its partners so as to avoid entrapment. As a result, they argue that alliances offer almost free – riskless – deterrence. This chapter challenges that reasoning, arguing that it follows from a superficial reading of th…
From Washington to Moscow
Should the United States Fear China’s Rise
Whether pundits and policymakers admit it or not, the United States is a great power in relative decline. It is not like the former Soviet Union and soon to fall into the dustbin of history; nor is
Over the Horizon
Time to Consolidate Nato
After two decades focused on the Middle East and Asia, American policymakers are again paying significant attention to European security. Russian bellicosity has seemingly given new life to the tra
Nato Enlargement—Was There a Promise
Joshua Shifrinson's article “Deal or No Deal?” presents a flawed account of the negotiations in 1990 that led to the reunification of Germany.1 His observations at the end of the piece about Russian foreign policy under Vladimir Putin overlook the continuity of Russian policy toward neighboring countries since 1992, long before Putin came to power.2In an article published in April 2009, I set out to determine whether it was true that, at some poi…
George H.W. Bush
Rising Titans, Falling Giants
Deal or No Deal? The End of the Cold War and the U.S. Offer to Limit Nato Expansion
Did the United States promise the Soviet Union during the 1990 negotiations on German reunification that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe? Since the end of the Cold War, an array of Soviet/Russian policymakers have charged that NATO expansion violates a U.S. pledge advanced in 1990; in contrast, Western scholars and political leaders dispute that the United States made any such commitment. Recently declassified U.S. government documents …
Fateful Transitions
Are democratic states better at ensuring peaceful relations between themselves amid large shifts in the distribution of power than nondemocracies? Although the democratic peace research program is well established, its arguments have been only loosely applied to cases of great power rise and decline. Daniel M. Kliman’s provocative new book, Fateful Transitions, seeks to fill the gap. Kliman’s thesis is straightforward: yes, rising and declining d…
Deal or No Deal? The End of the Cold War and the U.S. Offer to Limit Nato Expansion
Did the United States promise the Soviet Union during the 1990 negotiations on German reunification that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe? Since the end of the Cold War, an array of Soviet/Russian policymakers have charged that NATO expansion violates a U.S. pledge advanced in 1990; in contrast, Western scholars and political leaders dispute that the United States made any such commitment. Recently declassified U.S. government documents …
The rise of China, balance of power theory and US national security
When and why might a rising China challenge the power and security of a relatively declining United States? Conventional wisdom argues that China – like other rising states – is apt to adopt an increasingly ambitious strategy that imperils US interests as its relative power grows. Drawing on balance of power theory, I instead argue that the threat of Chinese predation is overstated. Rising in a crowded geopolitical neighbourhood, China faces ince…
Nato enlargement and US foreign policy
A Crude Threat
The United States and its Persian Gulf allies have been increasingly concerned with the growing size and complexity of Iran's ballistic missile programs. At a time when the United States and its allies remain locked in a standoff with Iran over the latter's nuclear program, states around the Persian Gulf fear that Iran would retaliate for an attack on its nuclear program by launching missiles at regional oil installations and other strategic targ…
Revisiting Insularity and Expansion
What is the relationship between insularity—a state’s separation from other states via large bodies of water—and expansion? The received wisdom, prominent in (though not exclusive to) realist theories, holds that insularity constrains expansion by making conquest difficult. We contend, by contrast, that this received wisdom faces important limits. Focusing on U.S. expansion via means short of conquest, we interrogate the underlying theoretical lo…
Debating China's Rise and U.S. Decline
January 01 2013 Debating China's Rise and U.S. Decline Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson, Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson is a doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Predoctoral Fellow with the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University. He thanks Ahsan Butt, Jennifer Dixon, Brendan Green, Sheena Greitens, Jennifer Keister, Christopher Layne, Lindsey O'Rour…
Evaluating Nato enlargement
Eastbound and down
When and why did the United States first contemplate NATO’s enlargement into Eastern Europe? Existing research generally portrays U.S. backing for NATO enlargement as a product of the policy debates and particular beliefs inside the William Clinton administration (1993–2001) starting in the mid-1990s. New evidence, however, shows that U.S. backing for enlargement began earlier, under the preceding George H.W. Bush administration (1989–1993). More…
Nato Enlargement—Was There a Promise
Joshua Shifrinson's article “Deal or No Deal?” presents a flawed account of the negotiations in 1990 that led to the reunification of Germany.1 His observations at the end of the piece about Russian foreign policy under Vladimir Putin overlook the continuity of Russian policy toward neighboring countries since 1992, long before Putin came to power.2In an article published in April 2009, I set out to determine whether it was true that, at some poi…
Squaring the Circle on Spheres of Influence
The Authors Respond – Joshua Shifrinson
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
How long until midnight? Intelligence-policy relations and the United States response to the Israeli nuclear program, 1959–1985
Why did the United States fail to stop Israeli acquisition of nuclear weapons? Existing research argues that patrons such as the U.S. should have an easy time halting proliferation by militarily and economically vulnerable clients. Nevertheless, Israel acquired nuclear weapons with relatively little American opposition. Utilizing extensive primary source research, we argue that problematic intelligence-policy relations hindered U.S. efforts to ar…
Should the United States Fear China’s Rise
Whether pundits and policymakers admit it or not, the United States is a great power in relative decline. It is not like the former Soviet Union and soon to fall into the dustbin of history; nor is
A Crude Threat
The United States and its Persian Gulf allies have been increasingly concerned with the growing size and complexity of Iran's ballistic missile programs. At a time when the United States and its allies remain locked in a standoff with Iran over the latter's nuclear program, states around the Persian Gulf fear that Iran would retaliate for an attack on its nuclear program by launching missiles at regional oil installations and other strategic targ…
Debating China's Rise and U.S. Decline
January 01 2013 Debating China's Rise and U.S. Decline Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson, Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson is a doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Predoctoral Fellow with the Institute for Security and Conflict Studies at George Washington University. He thanks Ahsan Butt, Jennifer Dixon, Brendan Green, Sheena Greitens, Jennifer Keister, Christopher Layne, Lindsey O'Rour…
Deal or No Deal? The End of the Cold War and the U.S. Offer to Limit Nato Expansion
Did the United States promise the Soviet Union during the 1990 negotiations on German reunification that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe? Since the end of the Cold War, an array of Soviet/Russian policymakers have charged that NATO expansion violates a U.S. pledge advanced in 1990; in contrast, Western scholars and political leaders dispute that the United States made any such commitment. Recently declassified U.S. government documents …
Fateful Transitions
Are democratic states better at ensuring peaceful relations between themselves amid large shifts in the distribution of power than nondemocracies? Although the democratic peace research program is well established, its arguments have been only loosely applied to cases of great power rise and decline. Daniel M. Kliman’s provocative new book, Fateful Transitions, seeks to fill the gap. Kliman’s thesis is straightforward: yes, rising and declining d…
Time to Consolidate Nato
After two decades focused on the Middle East and Asia, American policymakers are again paying significant attention to European security. Russian bellicosity has seemingly given new life to the tra
Nato Enlargement—Was There a Promise
Joshua Shifrinson's article “Deal or No Deal?” presents a flawed account of the negotiations in 1990 that led to the reunification of Germany.1 His observations at the end of the piece about Russian foreign policy under Vladimir Putin overlook the continuity of Russian policy toward neighboring countries since 1992, long before Putin came to power.2In an article published in April 2009, I set out to determine whether it was true that, at some poi…
George H.W. Bush
Rising Titans, Falling Giants
It’s a trap!
Should American policymakers worry that the United States’ allies might entrap the U.S. into costly foreign conflicts? Policymakers and a growing number of academics say no; the United States can craft diplomatic deals and restrain its partners so as to avoid entrapment. As a result, they argue that alliances offer almost free – riskless – deterrence. This chapter challenges that reasoning, arguing that it follows from a superficial reading of th…
From Washington to Moscow
Should the United States Fear China’s Rise
Whether pundits and policymakers admit it or not, the United States is a great power in relative decline. It is not like the former Soviet Union and soon to fall into the dustbin of history; nor is
Over the Horizon
Rising Titans, Falling Giants
As a rising great power flexes its muscles on the political-military scene it must examine how to manage its relationships with states suffering from decline; and it has to do so in a careful and strategic manner. In Rising Titans, Falling Giants Joshua R. Itzkowitz Shifrinson focuses on the policies that rising states adopt toward their declining competitors in response to declining states' policies, and what that means for the relationship betw…
How long until midnight? Intelligence-policy relations and the United States response to the Israeli nuclear program, 1959–1985
Why did the United States fail to stop Israeli acquisition of nuclear weapons? Existing research argues that patrons such as the U.S. should have an easy time halting proliferation by militarily and economically vulnerable clients. Nevertheless, Israel acquired nuclear weapons with relatively little American opposition. Utilizing extensive primary source research, we argue that problematic intelligence-policy relations hindered U.S. efforts to ar…
The Authors Respond – Joshua Shifrinson
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Response to T.V. Paul’s Review of Rising Titans, Falling Giants
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Nato enlargement and US foreign policy
Evaluating Nato enlargement
Neo-Primacy and the Pitfalls of US Strategy toward China
Over the last half decade, a bipartisan consensus has emerged in US foreign policy circles calling for sustained competition with China. The ostensible goals of this competition are to protect the
Partnership or Predation? How Rising States Contend with Declining Great Powers
International relations scholarship overwhelmingly expects that relatively rising states will threaten and challenge declining great powers. In practice, however, rising states can also cooperate with and support declining powers. What explains the rising state's choice of policy? When do rising states support or prey on declining great powers, and why do such strategies vary across time and space? The answer depends on the rising state's broader…
The rise of China, balance of power theory and US national security
When and why might a rising China challenge the power and security of a relatively declining United States? Conventional wisdom argues that China – like other rising states – is apt to adopt an increasingly ambitious strategy that imperils US interests as its relative power grows. Drawing on balance of power theory, I instead argue that the threat of Chinese predation is overstated. Rising in a crowded geopolitical neighbourhood, China faces ince…
Eastbound and down
When and why did the United States first contemplate NATO’s enlargement into Eastern Europe? Existing research generally portrays U.S. backing for NATO enlargement as a product of the policy debates and particular beliefs inside the William Clinton administration (1993–2001) starting in the mid-1990s. New evidence, however, shows that U.S. backing for enlargement began earlier, under the preceding George H.W. Bush administration (1989–1993). More…
Strategy on the Upward Slope
When a great power rises, what strategies does it adopt and why? Despite substantial interest in these questions due to concerns surrounding the rise of China and concomitant decline of the United States, research on rising state grand strategy remains underdeveloped. Not only do analysts lack a consistent way of describing how risers’ grand strategies vary, but insight into the drivers of rising state strategy remains inchoate. Accordingly, this…
Squaring the Circle on Spheres of Influence
Evaluating Nato Enlargement
This book offers a nuanced discussion of the merits and drawbacks of NATO enlargement across the different actors involved
Political science (23 works) · International Relations and Foreign Policy (20 works) · Law (19 works) · Law (17 works) · Politics (17 works) · Political economy (14 works) · Economics (10 works) · History (10 works) · Sociology (10 works) · Foreign policy (8 works)