American Trade Politics - (4th Edition)

Author: Daisler
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-06-01
Features: My first encounter with Professor Daisler's book American Trade Politics was in the early 1990s when I was studying at the University of California, San Diego. I remember taking the course "Independent Study" with the international political economist Professor Stephen Haggard, along with only one other doctoral student from Japan. Among the books recommended by the professor, American Trade Politics was listed first. Professor Haggard himself specializes in the political economy of development and has written extensively on the subject, long holding a leading position in research on this issue. His strong recommendation naturally drew our high attention. The vivid enthusiasm with which the professor praised the book remains vivid in my memory. American Trade Politics is highly regarded in both the U.S. academic and political circles and is recognized as the authoritative work for understanding the development and evolution of U.S. foreign trade policy. Since its first publication in 1986, it has now been revised to the fourth edition. On the cover of the fourth edition, former U.S. Representative Bill Frenzel (R-MN, 1971-1991) wrote: "If I were the highest-ranking official in trade policy-making, I would hire Daisler as my advisor, mentor, historian, analyst, and policy interpreter." From the perspective of a politician, he highly praised the depth and practicality of the book's content. The aforementioned Professor Haggard also gave it a fitting evaluation, noting on the cover of the revised edition: "This book remains the best single-volume work on trade politics to this day. It is truly a classic." Many academic works in the U.S., including some in international political economy, tend to overemphasize theoretical methods, organizing facts with their own fabricated concepts or proposing a series of assumptions, and then using "verified" or "falsified" facts as perceived by theorists to develop a "self-consistent" theoretical framework. Of course, there is nothing wrong with theorists adopting this so-called "positivist" scientific method to advance theory. However, when many people do this, they often lack a systematic understanding of the facts themselves, and the reliability of their rushed "theorization" is questionable. On the other hand, academic research delving into the "ivory tower" is not without justification, but an excessive number of works that are detached from social life and lack worldly experience are not a healthy academic trend. American Trade Politics stands out among the many works on U.S. trade politics and has been revised multiple times, indicating that the real world needs similar works that better integrate academic theory with real political and economic life. This academic approach is undoubtedly worth for Chinese scholars. Our academic resources are far scarcer than those in the U.S., and we can ill afford any waste of academic resources.