Perilous Partners: The Benefits and Pitfalls of America's Alliances with Authoritarian Regimes

Liberal democracies such as the United States face an acute dilemma in the conduct of foreign relations. Many states around the world are repressive or corrupt to varying degrees. Unfortunately, American national interests require cooperation with such regimes from time to time. To defeat Nazi Germany during World War II, the United States even allied with the Soviet Union, despite the barbarity of Josef Stalin's regime.

But such partnerships have the inherent danger of compromising, or eve...