With no peer competitors that could seriously threaten the U.S. on the global stage, foreign and defense policy has been characterized by the frequent use of military force, an expanding array of commitments, and large Pentagon budgets. Would a foreign policy grounded in realism better secure American national interests?

William P. Ruger serves as the vice president for research and policy at the Charles Koch Institute and the vice president for research at the Charles Koch Foundation. Ruger has written numerous books and articles, including scholarship in International Studies Quarterly, Civil Wars, and Armed Forces and Society. He is a veteran of the Afghanistan War and an officer in the U.S. Navy (Reserve Component).