Mixed Messages American Politics and International Organization 1919-1999

by Luck, Edward C.

• ISBN13: 9780815753070
• ISBN10: 0815753071
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-01
• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press

Summary

At the turn of the century, the United States is on the verge of losing its vote in the General Assembly for non-payment of its arrears. There are eerie parallels between the domestic debate over the United Nations in 1999 and the struggles over the League of Nations in 1919. Why, many ask, are Americans the first to create international organizations and the first to abandon them? What is it about the American political culture that breeds both the most ardent supporters and the most vocal detractors of international organization? And why can't they find any common ground?In seeking to uncover the roots of American ambivalence toward international organization, this political history presents the first major analysis of U.S. attitudes toward both the United Nations and the League of Nations. It traces eight themes that have resurfaced again and again in congressional and public debates over the course of this century: exceptionalism, sovereignty, nativism and racism, unilateralism, security, commitments, reform, and burden-sharing. It assesses recent domestic political trends and calls for the development of two interactive political compacts--one domestic and one international--to place U.S.-UN relations on a new footing.A Century

Author Biography

Edward C. Luck, a leading commentator for a quarter century and president of the United Nations Association from 1984 to 1994, heads the Center for the Study of International Organization of the NYU School of Law and the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University.

Table of Contents

Foreword	xi
Richard C. Leone
Preface	xv
List of Acronyms	xvii
The Price of Uncertainty and Division	1	(14)
A Special Nation, Peerless and Indispensable	15	(26)
The Burden of Exceptionalism	19	(4)
The Indispensable United States	23	(6)
The Universal United Nations	29	(5)
Are Americans Out of Step with the Rest of the World?	34	(7)
National Interests, Sovereignty, and Global Governance	41	(35)
Government: Big or Small, Near or Far	42	(6)
Global Governance: Promise or Threat?	48	(3)
A Global Tax Man?	51	(4)
Nationalism and Global Institutions	55	(6)
Inhibiting U.S. Freedom of Action or Multiplying Its Reach?	61	(7)
Evolving Notions of Sovereignty	68	(8)
Enemies Within, Enemies Without	76	(29)
Those Wily Europeans	78	(5)
Communists at Turtle Bay	83	(6)
Race, Class, and Their Legacies	89	(16)
America in Loyal Opposition	105	(28)
An Unfriendly Place?	106	(5)
Beijing In, Taipei Out	111	(2)
Rock Bottom? The Zionism-Racism Fiasco	113	(5)
A League of Democracies?	118	(2)
Global Programs, Domestic Agendas: Acting Globally and Thinking Locally	120	(8)
Permanent Opposition?	128	(5)
Dilemmas of Force	133	(30)
Too Weak or Too Strong?	133	(6)
Peace through War?	139	(8)
The Veto, National Security, and the Use of Force	147	(16)
Keeping the Peace: National Interests and International Commitments	163	(33)
Uncertain Interests, Open-Ended Commitments	164	(11)
The President, Congress, and War Powers	175	(9)
Who's in Control? The Question of Foreign Command of U.S. Forces	184	(9)
Who Owes Whom? Paying for Peacekeeping Support Costs	193	(3)
Reform for All Seasons	196	(28)
Unfinished Business in Planning the League and the UN	198	(3)
Penny Pinchers and Big Spenders: An Early Frost	201	(4)
Spinning Wheels: Barriers to Reform	205	(5)
Muddling Through: Reform as a Way of Life	210	(9)
The Odd Couple: Congress and UN Reform	219	(5)
Who Should Pay for the UN?	224	(30)
Burden Sharing and Legal Obligations	228	(2)
Meeting the Immediate Crisis: UN Bonds	230	(3)
Paradise Lost: The Article 19 Crisis	233	(5)
Legal Relativity and the Withholding Habit	238	(5)
The Withholding Debate	243	(7)
Layers of Mistrust	250	(4)
The Political Landscape	254	(26)
Debate Postponed, Issues Unresolved	255	(5)
Broad Measures of Support	260	(8)
Demographics: Who Are the Believers, Skeptics, and Opponents?	268	(3)
Reaching Congress: A Mission Impossible?	271	(9)
Old Realities, New Opportunities	280	(27)
No Shortcuts or Easy Solutions	284	(2)
Toward a New Domestic Compact	286	(5)
Toward a New International Compact	291	(7)
The Office of the Secretary-General: Catalyst or Lightning Rod?	298	(5)
Civil Society: The Key to Opening or Locking the Door?	303	(4)
Notes	307	(56)
Index	363