For Immediate Release
October 7, 2025
News Release
New Book: A Balance of Titans: Peace and Liberty in the New Multipolar World
Rethink U.S. Vital Interests and Still Remain Secure
Oakland, CA—America can be stronger and safer while cutting the current defense budget almost in half. This smarter and saner path to American security is a reality, but there’s a catch. It can only come about if we have courageous and honest leaders making it happen.
In his new book, A Balance of Titans: Peace and Liberty in the New Multipolar World, Ivan Eland (Independent Institute Senior Fellow) lays out the bold strategy of US Independent Internationalism, advocating diplomacy and restraint over empire and prolonged wars.
“The new strategy will cost less, helping to reduce the $37 trillion national debt, as well as result in fewer American and foreign lives lost. And, most importantly, it will help curtail the growth of government and the imperial presidency and the erosion of the American republic and its civil liberties,” says Eland.
The book describes how the US can protect its vital interests without bankrupting the nation or dragging America into endless wars. The US need not maintain a dominant global military presence. Instead, it can focus on strategic cooperation and selective engagement only where its interests are truly at stake.
The US spends more than the next nine countries combined on defense. Applying his expertise as a longtime national security analyst for Congress, Eland proposes specific examples of how the US can employ a significantly smaller military force, while maintaining a secure nation.
Eland’s vision is the brilliant and strategic recalibration our rapidly changing world needs. Instead of risking catastrophic conflict by policing the globe, Eland argues that America must lead the way in building a peaceful, regionally balanced international order
Author Biography: Ivan Eland, Ph.D. is a Senior Fellow at the Independent Institute and Director of the Independent Institute’s Center on Peace & Liberty. He is the author of several books on foreign policy and government.
For more information, contact Robert Ade, [email protected], or (510) 635-3690.
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INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE
100 Swan Way, Oakland, CA 94621-1428
The Independent Institute is a non-profit, public policy, research and educational organization that promotes the power of independent thinking to boldly advance peaceful, prosperous, and free societies grounded in a commitment to human worth and dignity. For more information, visit Independent.org.








