The Emerging American Garrison State

by Esman, Milton J.

• ISBN13: 9780230339989
• ISBN10: 0230339980
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-10-30
• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot

Summary

The United States Government is in the process of evolving, irreversibly, from a constitutional to a garrison state. The Emerging American Garrison State describes and analyzes the emergence of the American global empire and the role of the garrison state in protecting the threatened homeland and defending the declining imperium. Author Milton J. Esman analyzes the ideology, strategy, political economy, institutions, and culture that underlie the militarized garrison state and the rise of the autonomous presidency as its dominant institution. Contrasting the governing institutions of the garrison state with those of the previous constitutional order and describing the effects of the new regime on the several classes of American society, this book is required reading for students of American government and society.

Author Biography

Milton J. Esman is John S. Knight Professor of International Studies, Emeritus, and Professor of Government, Emeritus, at Cornell University.

Table of Contents

What is a garrison state: concept and definition * Historical antecedents * Origins and consolidation of the imperium * The shock of 9/11 and its consequences * The five dimensions of the American garrison state * The autonomous commander-in-chief  * The Threat to Civil Liberties * Future prospects: Garrison state in a declining superpower