'This is a definitive book about international relations. Conventional wisdom holds that countries gain bargaining advantages by making it impossible or too costly to back down. Challenging decades of scholarship, Reiter persuasively demonstrates that countries rarely tie their hands. Untied Hands should be read alongside Thomas Schelling's 1960s-era classics.' Matthew Fuhrmann, Texas A&M University and author of Influence Without Arms

'Reiter's careful analysis of historical evidence strongly challenges a fundamental tenet of international relations scholarship: that states tie their hands to boost credibility. This book will surely spark debate among scholars and change how we think about crisis bargaining.' Roseanne W. McManus, Pennsylvania State University

'Once again, Dan Reiter compels us to reconsider conventional understandings of international politics. His masterful book casts new light on one of the most important assets in foreign policy: credibility. It argues that our basic beliefs about how to make threats and promises credible in foreign policy have been wrong all along. Scholars and policymakers will have to stop and reckon with its bracing conclusions.' Todd Sechser, University of Virginia and co author of Nuclear Weapons and Coercive Diplomacy