Rogue Nation : American Unilateralism and the Failure of Good Intentions

by Prestowitz, Clyde

• ISBN13: 9780465062799
• ISBN10: 0465062792
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-06-01
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

During the six months prior to the World Trade Center attack, the United States walked away from a treaty to control the world traffic in small arms, the Kyoto accords, a treaty to combat bioterrorism, and many other international agreements. After 9/11 there was a flurry of coalition building, but Europe and Asia quickly came to see the conflict in Afghanistan as an American war with Tony Blair leading cheers from the sidelines. Recent American calls to action in Iraq have only reinforced international perception that the U.S. plans to remain a solitary actor on the world stage. Despite our stated good intentions--the causes of justice and democracy--we have become the world's largest rogue nation.The Bush administration did not invent the American tradition of unilateralism, but, Clyde Prestowitz argues, they have taken it to unprecedented heights. Rogue Nation explores the historical roots of the unilateral impulse and shows how it helps shape American foreign policy in every important area: trade and economic policy, arms control, energy, environment, drug trafficking, agriculture. Even now, when the need for multilateral action--and the danger of going it alone--has never been greater, we continue to act contrary to international law, custom, and our own best interests.

Author Biography

Clyde Prestowitz is the president of the Economic Strategy Institute in Washington, D.C.

Table of Contents

At Odds with the World--and Ourselves	p. 1
The Unacknowledged Empire	p. 19
America's Game	p. 51
Running on Empty	p. 81
Who Lost Kyoto?	p. 111
In Arms We Trust	p. 143
Peaceful People, Endless War	p. 171
Wagging the Dog: Two Tales	p. 193
Friends and Foes	p. 227
City on a Hill	p. 267
Notes	p. 285
Recommended Reading	p. 305
Acknowledgments	p. 311
Index	p. 315
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