Roots of the Pax Americana Decolonisation, Development, Democratisation and Trade

by Louw, Eric

• ISBN13: 9780719079573
• ISBN10: 0719079578
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-07-01
• Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PR

Summary

This book examines how and why Americans built an informal trading empire and why the British Empire needed to be removed before a Pax Americana could be built. The Pax Americana is a phenomenon of global significance, and this fascinating book offers a systematic explanation for the rise of this super empire and examines in detail how it is governed. A core feature of the book is a concern with America's vision of the world and how the USA has attempted (especially since 1945) to export this vision across the globe. The book identifies and examines the underlying discourses and belief systems that gave rise to a Pax Americana. An eclectic range of methodologies and theories are deployed to explain the phenomenon of this informal empire, ranging from to materialist (political economy) explanations of US imperialism through to those explanations grounded in the non-materialist realm of values, ideas and world views. The result is an exploration of the curious phenomenon of an anti-imperialist empire with both economic and moral roots.

Author Biography

Eric Louw, now at University of Queensland, previously worked for a number of South African universities, and ran a Non-Government Organization engaged in development work.

Table of Contents

List of maps * List of tables * List of abbreviations * Acknowledgements * 1. What is the Pax Americana? * 2. The twentieth-century power-shift * 3. Manifest destiny and the rise of American power * 4. The British Empire as obstacle to American power * 5. Planning for a future Pax Americana * 6. Promoting decolonisation: de-legitimating European imperial power * 7. Getting Britain to deconstruct its empire * 8. Cloning America 1: selling ‘development’ * 9. Cloning America 2: the German/Japan model * 10. Cloning America 3: Hollywood and Soft Power * 11. The Empire strikes back: 9/11 and beyond * Maps * Select bibliography * Index *