WACHH BoOK CLUB

The Book Club is the newest addition to the World Affairs Council of Hilton Head (WACHH) program offerings. The Book Club presents an opportunity for us all to learn more broadly and deeply about both world affairs and domestic politics, to engage in stimulating discussions, and to make new friendships.

The Book Club is free and open to WACHH members and the public, but advance registration is required. Registration for each book club discussion will open one month in advance and is limited to 35 participants.

The Book Club meets the second Thursday of each month from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at The Island Rec Center Board Room, 20 Wilborn Rd, Hilton Head Island (next to the High school).

Click HERE it download the Book Club Flyer for more information

February 9, 2023

Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know
by Bruce W. Jentleson

"Bruce Jentleson combines broad historical knowledge and deep analytical insights to help us understand how, when, and why the world's major powers and leading international organizations are able to use economic sanctions successfully to get what they want in world affairs--and when they aren't." — James Goldgeier, Professor of International Relations, American University

Sanctions: What Everyone Needs to Know provides a concise, authoritative overview of a little-understood yet extremely important phenomenon in world politics: the use of economic sanctions by one country to punish another. The United States has sanctions against more than 30 countries. Russia has repeatedly imposed sanctions against former Soviet republics. China has developed its own approach, including targeting private entities such as the NBA. And it's not just major powers – smaller countries have sanctioned each other over colonial legacies, conflicting political interests, and climate change.

Bruce Jentleson, one of America's leading scholars on the subject, explains the different types of sanctions, key factors affecting their success, and why they are used so often as a tool of first resort for states engaged in international conflict.
REGISTER NOW
March 9, 2023

Danger Zone: The Coming Conflict with China
by Michael Beckley and Hal Brands

"Brands and Beckley powerfully argue that an enormously ambitious China is peaking now and confrontation is coming sooner than we think. This well-written, must-read book will add a sense of urgency to the national debate about strategic competition." ― Ambassador (ret.) Eric S. Edelman, former Undersecretary of Defense for Policy

Danger Zone is a provocative and urgent analysis of the U.S.–China rivalry. The US and China have clashing geopolitical interests, and a stark ideological dispute over whether authoritarianism or democracy will dominate the 21st century. Both history and China’s current trajectory suggest that this rivalry will reach its moment of maximum danger in the 2020s.

While over the long run, the Chinese challenge will most likely prove more manageable than many pessimists currently believe―during the 2020s, the pace of Sino-American conflict will accelerate, and the prospect of war will be frighteningly real. America, Brands and Beckley argue, will need both a sustainable approach to winning a protracted global competition and a near-term strategy for navigating the danger zone immediately ahead. More Information
Registration will open a month in advance
April 13, 2023

Wretched Refuse? The Political Economy of Immigration and Institutions by Alex Nowrasteh and Benjamin Powell
(Alex Nowrasteh is WACHH’s Distinguished Speaker on April 28, 2023)

"Read this penetrating analysis of immigration and see why there is still a case for the wealth creating powers of the free movement of people as well as goods in international trade. If people don't cross borders, we will be less prosperous." -- Vernon Smith, Chapman University and 2002 Nobel Laureate in Economics

Economic arguments favoring increased immigration restrictions suggest that immigrants undermine the culture, institutions, and productivity of destination countries. But is this actually true? Nowrasteh and Powell systematically analyze cross-country evidence of potential negative effects caused by immigration relating to economic freedom, corruption, culture, and terrorism. They analyze case studies of mass immigration to the United States, Israel, and Jordan. Their non-ideological volume challenges prevailing thinking about immigration and its impact as they present evidence that counters the idea that immigration destroys the institutions responsible for prosperity in the modern world. More Information
Registration will open a month in advance
Past Book Club Selections

September 9, 2021: The Room Where it Happened: A White House Memoir by John Bolton

October 14, 2021: The New Map: Energy, Climate And The Clash Of Nations by Daniel Yergin

November 11, 2021: After the Fall: Being American in the World We’ve Made by Ben Rhodes

December 9, 2021: War: How Conflict Changed Us by Margaret MacMillan

January 13, 2022: How Democracies Die by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt

February 10, 2022: Black Wave by Kim Ghattas

March 10, 2022: Us vs Them: The Failure of Globalism by Ian Bremmer

April 14, 2022: The Perfect Weapon: War, Sabotage and Fear in the Cyber Age by David E. Sanger

May 12, 2022: Do Morals Matter? Presidents and Foreign Policy from FDR to Trump by Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

June 9, 2022: The Gates of Europe: A History of Ukraine by Serhii Plokhy

July 14, 2022: The Peace Makers by Bruce W. Jentleson

August 11, 2022: The Chancellor by Kati Marton

September 8, 2022: Lessons from the Edge: A Memoir by Marie Yovanovitch
October 13, 2022: Twilight of Democracy by Anne Applebaum
November 10, 2022: On Corruption in America: What’s at Stake by Sarah Chayes
December 8, 2022: Leadership: Six Studies in World Strategy by Henry Kissinger

January 12, 2023: Peace, War and Liberty: Understanding US Foreign Policy by Chris Preble