In Search of Monsters to Destroy: The Folly of American Empire and the Paths to Peace by Christopher J. Coyne (2022) offers a solid and compelling critique of the perpetual expansion of the American ‘liberal’ hegemonic project, which feeds on a culture of imperialistic militarism, thus Coyne’s choice to speak of ‘the American Empire.’ Additionally, this critique is complemented by a timely call for the cultivation of ‘cultures of peace’ within and among different societies toward a global sustainable peace. Following a first chapter on the history of the American Liberal Empire, its global manifestations, and the establishment of the national security state, the book proceeds to discuss the illiberal foundations of the American Empire, showing how the activities of the ‘protective state’ produces authoritarian outcomes at home, inside the United States. Next, the book explores the relationship between imperialism and the growth of cronyism in the U.S. military sector, which strongly influences almost all aspects of the U.S. economy. Chapter 4 offers a rich analysis of the knowledge and political economy constraints faced by liberal imperialism, followed by two empirical chapters that illustrate these limitations in the case of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, particularly with respect to the U.S. effort to combat opium production and the U.S. drone program.

After exhausting the ‘Folly of American Empire’, the book’s final chapter turns to the ‘Paths to Peace.’ In doing so Coyne accentuates the need and urgency to move away from a culture of militarism and toward cultures of peace, starting with a serious consideration of alternatives to empire through other means of security provision, including polycentric defense.

While primarily addressing the American Empire, the book strongly speaks to broader scholarly interests and concerns, including international relations, comparative politics, and the politics of the Middle East. Being grounded in these disciplines, I find the book’s argument and analysis of great value in response to two major questions at the heart of my research and teaching. First, can states be built through international interventions? And second, are Western powers effectively committed to a democratic Middle East? Moving forward, the essay shall address each of these questions in turn, not in pursuit of comprehensive answers but toward enriching the respective discussions with some of the insights presented in Coyne’s book. Doing so, the essay argues that the answer to both questions is decisively negative, which paves the way, in the essay’s fourth part, to reflect on the prospects of a sustainable global peace and its essential requirements.

KEYWORDS: Christopher Coyne, In Search of Monsters to Destroy, Authoritarianism, Democratization, The Middle East