archive

The spread of human liberty

Lawrence Davidson (West Chester): Private Control of Foreign Policy. Paul MacDonald (Williams): Rebalancing American Foreign Policy. A review of books: American foreign policy is at a crossroads. Who runs what US foreign policy, and what role has Obama carved out for himself? From New Statesman, Obama is commander-in-chief of an unprecedented network of military bases that is still expanding; but what is historically distinct about US power is that it has enabled the spread of human liberty. Why Americans see Thomas Jefferson in every would-be revolutionary around the world. A review of From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations since 1776 by George Herring (and more). Matthew Yglesias reviews The Godfather Doctrine: A Foreign Policy Parable by John Hulsman and A. Wess Mitchell. A review of By His Own Rules: The Ambitions, Successes, and Ultimate Failures of Donald Rumsfeld by Bradley Graham (and more and more and more). Amid war and recession, Americans are in a no-nonsense, matter-of-fact mood — but that, says Paul Wolfowitz, is no reason to adopt the misguided doctrine of realism (and responses). The long, slow death of American triumphalism: Think of GI Joe as a modern American zombie — "he" may never have existed, but he just won't die.