Description
Book SynopsisLeon Fink examines key cases of progressive influence on postwar U.S. foreign policy, tracing the tension between liberal aspirations and the political realities that stymie them. A diplomatic history that emphasizes the roles of class, labor, race, and grassroots activism, this book suggests new directions for progressive foreign policy.
Trade ReviewOffering a broad analysis of left-liberal approaches to foreign policy in the second half of the twentieth century, this is a gripping book that manages to elicit a vision of postwar liberalism as a global project and to suggest some of the real difficulties that it encountered. -- Kimberly Phillips-Fein, author of
Fear City: New York's Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity PoliticsA bracing and thoroughly convincing account of the attempt by liberals and social democrats to create a world of economic abundance and social welfare during the Cold War and its immediate aftermath. As Leon Fink makes clear, their failure should not obscure the value of their ambitions—or the scope of their limited but real successes. This is a highly original and provocative work of global history that deserves a wide audience. -- Michael Kazin, author of
What It Took to Win: A History of the Democratic PartyA rich historical analysis of US-led liberal internationalism and insight into opportunities for future progress. -- Gabriella Cook Francis, Chatham House, UK * International Affairs *
Thought-provoking. * Society for U.S. Intellectual History *
Table of ContentsIntroduction: Left-Liberal Apostles in the Cold War Era
Part I: Labor-Liberalism and the Postwar Order1. The Bretton Woods Boomerang: Liberal Internationalism, 1944–2016
2. The Good Postwar: German Worker Rights, 1945–1950
3. The Liberal Embrace of Labor Zionism: Israel, 1948–1973
Part II: Liberal Anticommunism4. Anticommunism as Social Policy: Costa Rica, 1944–1980
5. Siren Song of Economic Development: U.S. Missions to India, 1952–1975
Part III: Liberal Nationalism on Trial6. The Quest for a Two-State Solution: Israel, 1973–2000
7. The Long Arm of the Civil Rights Movement: South Africa, 1970–2000
Conclusion: Beyond Humanitarianism
Acknowledgments
Notes
Index
