The Limits of Culture

Most scholars and policymakers think that if you understand a state's culture, you know all you need to know about how it will comport itself in its relations with other states. But the contributors to The Limits of Culture: Islam and Foreign Policy collectively offer a variety of persuasive reasons for thinking that there is much more to the foreign policy of states in the Caspian region than their Islamic cultures. The Limits of Culture points us in the direction of a much more realistic assessment of why Caspian region states act the way they do. This is a timely and important book that will be of interest to both scholars and policymakers.

Michael C. Desch, Professor and Robert M. Gates Chair in Intelligence and National Security Decision-Making, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University

This provocative collection of essays strikes a blow at the heart of conventional wisdom about the critical role of culture in shaping foreign policy decisions. It dispels the currently fashionable idea that self-declared Islamic republics and other states in the Muslim world are motivated by religious considerations instead of acting first and foremost as states. This is an invaluable book for anyone trying to understand developments across the band of countries extending from the Middle East to the Caspian region and South Asia.

Fiona Hill, Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

Across the stretch of territory that used to be called the Near East, from the eastern Mediterranean to the Central Asian steppe, facile culturalist explanations for political behavior are once again in vogue. In this welcome volume, the authors carefully examine these claims, charting precisely how cultural features, from the religious orientations of a population to the official ideologies of a state, might influence the making of foreign policy. Blood, belief, and belonging can be important at times, but this volume helps us understand the specific conditions under which culture does—and, perhaps more important, doesn't—matter.

Charles King, Chair of the Faculty and Ion Ratiu Associate Professor, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University