Buttressed by input from scholars, diplomats, and observers with an intimate knowledge of U.S. foreign policy, Honey and Vinegar examines "engagement" —strategies that primarily involve the use of positive incentives. The book contends that although engagement has received little scrutiny relative to other, more punitive foreign policy approaches, it has great potential as a tool for modifying the behavior of regimes with which the United States has significant disagreements.Heightened awareness of the costs associated with the use of sanctions or military force has catalyzed a search for policy alternatives.

The United States and China : tough engagement /Robert Lee Suettinger -- Europe and Iran : critical dialogue / Johannes Reissner -- The United States and Iraq : perils of engagement / Kenneth I. Juster -- The United States and North Korea : cooperative security / Leon V. Sigal -- The United States and South Africa : persuasion and coercion / Pauline H. Baker -- The United States and the Soviet Union : lessons of detente / James M. Goldgeier -- The United States and Vietnam : road to normalization / Frederick Z. Brown.