G. Doug Davis

In an increasingly complex world, the decisions of American presidents can shape the course of global events—but those decisions are only as good as the intelligence behind them. Presidential Daily Intelligence Briefs: The Ability to Predict Conflict in the Middle East and the World pulls back the curtain on the secretive world of U. S. intelligence to reveal how leaders are briefed, how threats are assessed, and why critical warnings are sometimes missed. Drawing on declassified Presidential Daily Briefs and historical case studies from the Cold War to the War on Terror, the book uncovers a striking reality: the intelligence has correctly predicted only about half of major global conflicts. It excels when focused on great power rivalry, yet repeatedly fails to anticipate revolutions, civil wars, and emerging threats—often with devastating consequences. Blending rigorous analysis with gripping real-world examples, Presidential Daily Intelligence Briefs exposes the hidden biases, institutional blind spots, and human judgments that shape intelligence at the highest levels. It reveals not only how intelligence works, but why it sometimes doesn’t—and what that means for America’s future.

The end of the Cold War heralded in a new era for liberalism. Eastern European states adopted democracy and capitalism to gain acceptance by the West. Yet, a mere two decades later, liberalism was in crisis. The rise of illiberal democracies and nationalist movements in the second decade of the twenty-first century have left scholars baffled. How could this happen? Dr's. Davis and Slobodchikoff show that the decline of the liberal order lies within its own ideology: as it champions freedom, liberalism requires its adherents to give up their cultural traditions and adopt the global ethos to be legitimate. Through a systematic analysis of Western and Russian soft power in Poland and Serbia, the authors explain the decline of liberalism and the battle over the balance of power in Eastern Europe.

The end of the Cold War heralded in a new era for liberalism. Eastern European states adopted democracy and capitalism to gain acceptance by the West. Yet, a mere two decades later, liberalism was in crisis. The rise of illiberal democracies and nationalist movements in the second decade of the twenty-first century have left scholars baffled. How could this happen? Dr's. Davis and Slobodchikoff show that the decline of the liberal order lies within its own ideology: as it champions freedom, liberalism requires its adherents to give up their cultural traditions and adopt the global ethos to be legitimate. Through a systematic analysis of Western and Russian soft power in Poland and Serbia, the authors explain the decline of liberalism and the battle over the balance of power in Eastern Europe.