Ikenberry argues that after major wars, victorious powers face a “winner’s dilemma”—balancing their desire to secure advantages with the need to reassure other states and prevent future conflict. He outlines three main strategies: abandonment (leaving a power vacuum), domination (imposing highly favorable terms), and institutionalization (creating rules and institutions that bind both winners and losers). Through careful historical analysis, Ikenberry demonstrates that the most enduring and cooperative orders emerge when powerful states exercise strategic restraint and use institutions to lock in their leadership. This approach, he contends, reassures weaker states, encourages cooperation, and creates “sticky” institutions that persist even as power shifts over time.

The book’s core insight is that the spread of democracy and the rise of multilateral institutions—especially under U.S. leadership—have enabled the creation of “constitutional” international orders that go beyond mere balance-of-power politics. By blending comparative politics, history, and international relations theory, Ikenberry shows how strategic restraint and institution-building have been crucial for postwar stability, particularly after 1945. While some critics note that Ikenberry’s optimism about the resilience of these liberal orders may have been challenged by later events, After Victory remains a foundational text for understanding the origins and durability of international institutions and the conditions for lasting peace.