American foreign policy and how it has affected the world

Author: Walter Russell Mead
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: In this ambitious and significant new book, Walter Russell Mead examines American foreign policy in an exciting and highly original way, far beyond the cliché of "realists versus idealists." He combines American history with the current world situation, a perspective particularly valuable. For all those concerned with how the United States can function in an increasingly complex world, I highly recommend this book. This important work is profound, thought-provoking, and imaginative, and it is likely to change the way we think about American foreign relations. Written by a leading expert in foreign policy, it offers a comprehensive reinterpretation of American foreign relations (since its founding). Mead's central theme is to explore why American foreign policy has succeeded and to summarize the lessons for American diplomacy. In this masterpiece, Walter Mead revisits American history, identifying four schools of thought named after four U.S. presidents—Hamilton, Jefferson, Jackson, and Wilson—each representing the values and perspectives of merchants, lawyers, soldiers, and missionaries. Each school has deep domestic political roots and reflects the core concerns of American foreign policy since the founding: Hamiltonism—protecting commerce; Jeffersonianism—upholding democracy; Jacksonianism—populist values and military strength; Wilsonianism—moral principles. These four schools have continuously and beneficially influenced America's identity and political foundations as a world power, becoming the fundamental factors shaping American foreign policy. Mead traces and critically analyzes each of these four approaches, finding that their influence on today's American foreign policy is as significant as it was 200 years ago and that they can and should guide the United States in overcoming future challenges. Therefore, the deeper our understanding of these four approaches, the better we can grasp how the United States responds to past and future foreign policy challenges. This book offers insightful analysis and thought-provoking perspectives, making it a worthwhile read for those who wish to savor its depth. It is an outstanding analytical work and an essential book for Chinese scholars and students studying American issues.