America in the World
A History of U.S. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
America has a long history of diplomacy–ranging from Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, and Thomas Jefferson to Henry Kissinger, Ronald Reagan, and James Baker–now is your chance to see the impact these Americans have had on the world.
Recounting the actors and events of U.S. foreign policy, Zoellick identifies five traditions that have emerged from America's encounters with the world: the importance of North America; the special roles trading, transnational, and technological relations play in defining ties with others; changing attitudes toward alliances and ways of ordering connections among states; the need for public support, especially through Congress; and the belief that American policy should serve a larger purpose. These traditions frame a closing review of post-Cold War presidencies, which Zoellick foresees serving as guideposts for the future.
Both a sweeping work of history and an insightful guide to U.S. diplomacy past and present, America in the World serves as an informative companion and practical adviser to readers seeking to understand the strategic and immediate challenges of U.S. foreign policy during an era of transformation.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Former World Bank president Zoellick, who served in the State Department during both Bush administrations, debuts with a richly detailed and centrist-minded history of American diplomacy, from Benjamin Franklin's signing of the first two U.S. treaties in 1778 to President Trump's trade war with China. Contending that "U.S. diplomacy has sought out what works, even if practitioners stumbled while discovering what they could accomplish," Zoellick identifies five traditions that have guided America's foreign policy, including a focus on exerting control over North America; a prioritization of "trade, technology, and finance" in international relations; and a belief in American exceptionalism. In the book's strongest sections, Zoellick spotlights these traditions in more obscure episodes from U.S. diplomatic history, including Michigan senator Arthur Vandenberg's essential role in post-WWII alliance building, and Theodore Roosevelt's mediation of the Russo-Japanese War and a 1905 clash between France and Germany over Morocco. Readers hoping for substantial insights into more recent events will be disappointed; in a brief afterword, Zoellick sketches the foreign policies of the Clinton, (George W.) Bush, Obama, and Trump presidencies, and leaves Russia's 2016 electoral interference unmentioned. Still, this is a cogent, fine-grained assessment of the value of pragmatism in foreign affairs.
