Description
Book SynopsisThe World Today Series: USA and The World describes not only what happened, but puts events in the context of the past and criticizes policy actions as appropriate. The result goes deeper than most of what appears in current publications. Updated annually and part of the renowned World Today Series, USA and the World presents an unusually penetrating look into America and its relationship to the rest of the world. The combination of factual accuracy and up-to-date detail along with its informed projections make this an outstanding resource for researchers, practitioners in international development, media professionals, government officials, potential investors and students. Now in its 16th edition, the content is thorough yet perfect for a one-semester introductory course or general library reference.
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter One: National Interest Priorities
National Security
The Northern Neighbor: Canada
Regional Cooperation in the Western Hemisphere
Europe’s Political and Economic Stability
Russian Stability and Economic Development
The Greater Middle East
Stable Transitions in Africa
Development in South Asia: India and Pakistan
Asia Pacific Peace and Stability
Promoting Democracy
Transnational Threats
The Environmental Dimension
Realism and Democracy
The American World Image
Chapter Two: National Expansion
Enduring Interests
International Commerce
In the Beginning
The New Nation and Its Constitution
First Diplomatic Steps
Restructuring Strict Constructionism
Unleashing the Dogs of War
A Cautionary Tale
Manifest Destiny
Advances in Democracy
America Becomes a Great Power
The Path of Empire
Chapter Three: Ascent to Globalism
Europe’s Lights Go Out
World War I
The Paris Peace Conference, 1919–1920
Isolation and Normalcy: the 1920s
Economic Problems of the Peace 1919–1939
The Dictators Take Over
Neutrality and Appeasement
Into the Abyss
The Arsenal of Democracy
America’s Entry
War in the Pacific
Pandora’s Box of Atomic Weaponry
Wartime Planning for Peace
Uniting for Peace
Old Game, New Rules
The East-West Conflict
Cold War and Iron Curtain
Power and Purpose
Cracks in the Bloc
Nationalism Triumphs
Chapter Four: The Anguish of Power
World Tensions
On the Brink
The Ordeal of Vietnam
The Middle East Conflict
Security in the Nuclear Age
The Second Cold War
Strategic Defense
South of the Border
The Arc of Crisis
Looking East
The World Turned Rightside Up
The Middle East in Peace and War
The Western Hemisphere
Heirs of Pericles: NATO and OSCE
Transnational Turbulence
A Nation Apart?
Cold Dawn
Glossary of International Terms
Chapter Five: Political Ideas and Political System
Deliberative Bodies
Separation of Powers
Checks and Balances
The Changing Constitution
The Federal System
The Legislative Branch
The Executive Branch
The Judicial Branch
The States
Elections in the United States
Revved Up with Somewhere to Go
All Politics is Local
Glossary of Political Terms
Chapter Six: The U.S. Economy
Going Commercial
Fluctuations Before 1860
Called to Account
All the World’s An Exchange
War and Peace, 1914–1919
The Crest of the Wave
Exit Prosperity
Comparative Disadvantage
National Recovery 1934–1941
World War II
The Bretton Woods System
Patterns of International Economic Cooperation
The Yellow Brick Road
The “Soaring Sixties”
Trade with the East Bloc
Shocks to the System
Meddling and Muddling
The Navigator
Go-Go Global
Home to Roost
What is Past is Prologue
Cry Havoc
Reindustrialization
Glossary of Economic Terms
Chapter Seven: A Nation of Nations
Immigration
Freedom and Civil Liberties
The “Melting Pot”
Demography as Destiny
The Future
Web Sites and Bibliography
