Paradoxes of Power: U.S. Foreign Policy in a Changing World

by Skidmore,David

• ISBN13: 9781594514029
• ISBN10: 159451402X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-02-15
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book provides a lively and readable introduction to current debates over U.S. power and purpose in world affairs. These debates involve two crucial questions: Should U.S. foreign policy focus on securing vital interests that are narrowly defined, or should the United States seek to spread U.S. institutions and values to other societies? Should the United States exercise maximum independence in the exercise of U.S. power abroad or work principally through multilateral institutions? This book brings together many different voices to answer these questions and to add to our understanding of the issues.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Introduction	p. 1
U.S. Dominance and Its Limits	p. 13
Overview	p. 13
Discussion Questions	p. 16
Suggested Readings	p. 16
American Primacy in Perspective	p. 17
The Decline of America's Soft Power	p. 27
The Inadequacy of American Power	p. 33
America as a European Hegemon	p. 39
A Global Power Shift in the Making	p. 50
An American Empire?	p. 57
Overview	p. 57
Discussion Questions	p. 61
Suggested Readings	p. 61
History Lesson: What Woodrow Wilson Can Teach Today's Imperialists	p. 63
Is the U.S. an Empire?	p. 72
The New American Militarism	p. 75
The American Empire: The Burden	p. 84
The Case for American Empire	p. 88
The Empire Slinks Back	p. 92
Strategic Choice: Unilateralism or Multilateralism?	p. 99
Overview	p. 99
Discussion Questions	p. 104
Suggested Readings	p. 104
Democratic Realism: An American Foreign Policy for a Unipolar World	p. 105
After Neoconservatism	p. 118
Leadership at Risk: The Perils of Unilateralism	p. 128
Is American Multilateralism in Decline?	p. 134
Attitudes toward American Power at Home and Abroad	p. 147
Overview	p. 147
Discussion Questions	p. 150
Suggested Readings	p. 151
The Paradoxes of American Nationalism	p. 153
Power and Weakness	p. 160
The Effects of September 11: A Rift between Europe and America?	p. 178
Views of a Changing World 2003: War with Iraq Further Divides Global Publics	p. 190
Taming American Power	p. 203
Case Studies in U.S. Grand Strategy: The War against Terrorism and the Invasion of Iraq	p. 215
Overview	p. 215
Discussion Questions	p. 224
Suggested Readings	p. 225
The National Security Strategy of the United States of America, 2002	p. 227
The Case for Overthrowing Saddam Was Unimpeachable	p. 240
America's Imperial Ambition	p. 246
Realism's Shining Morality	p. 256
Bounding the Global War on Terrorism	p. 262
The End of the Bush Revolution	p. 266
Conclusion	p. 275
Credits	p. 281
About the Editor and Contributors	p. 285
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.