Synopses & Reviews
"John Ikenberry, America's leading scholar of international affairs, brilliantly relates theory to historical change in his timely advocacy of a new U.S. foreign policy."--Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies
"Nobody has thought longer or deeper about the nature of the American liberal world order than John Ikenberry. Tough-minded yet visionary and optimistic, this inspirational volume should become required reading for all those tasked with the great responsibility of steering us to safety through the very choppy international waters into which we are now heading."--Michael Cox, London School of Economics and Political Science
"Liberal Leviathan traces the intimate connections between the emergence of a largely liberal international system and the concentration of global power in the United States in the twentieth century. The marriage of power and principle in the United States has been central to the emergence of the liberal order, but Ikenberry shows that it is also corrosive of that order. As a consequence both of U.S. foreign policy activism and gradual shifts in the distribution of world power, the liberal order faces significant new challenges. This book traces alternative paths through which these challenges might be met."--Barry Posen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Liberal Leviathan offers a masterful deliberation on American power, international change, and the global order. It will no doubt take its place as a seminal volume in international relations, one that helps define the debate about emerging changes in the global distribution of power. I can think of few volumes comparable in their conceptual clarity and ambition. A must-read."--Charles A. Kupchan, author of How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace
"Liberal Leviathan is an ambitious, comprehensive, and deeply learned study of the American-led international political order. I am confident that it will stand as a major and lasting contribution to scholarship and to the public conversation about United States foreign policy. This is a big and important book."--William C. Wohlforth, coauthor of World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy
Review
"Ikenberry argues that "power and rules are not enemies". On the contrary, the success of
American foreign policy after 1945 was based on the realization that, although the US was
easily the most powerful nation in the world, it was in American interests to build a liberal, rule-based international order." --Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Review
"His book lucidly explains how the end of the Cold War allowed the U.S.-dominated Western system to expand to the rest of the world. Ikenberry's account has an intuitive appeal. There's always more than enough chaos to argue that the world is in crisis . . . he writes thoughtfully about the challenge of integrating rising powers into global governance. . . . As a clear and informed synthesis of the existing scholarship on global governance, this book is a success."
--David Bosco, American Prospect
Review
"
Liberal Leviathan is a great review of the state of the art of broad and narrow Realist and liberal theories being discussed in American academia."
--César de Prado, International Affairs
Review
"International orders guide how major powers interact with one another and with less powerful states: how they cooperate and compete in trade and security and when and why they respect one another's sovereignty. Ikenberry's important book tackles this complex subject, giving readers a deep understanding of the factors that determine the type of international order. . . .
Liberal Leviathan is a valuable guide to understanding the factors that will determine its eventual shape."
--Foreign Affairs
Review
"This is a valuable work of international relations theory."
--Choice
Review
"[A]mbitious and thought-provoking."
--Gideon Rachman, Financial Times
Review
"
Liberal Leviathan is a brilliant inquisition into the nature of international order, politics of unipolarity, and substance of United States foreign policy. . . . Drawing equally on international relations theory, history, and political theory,
Liberal Leviathan offers a probing analysis into the challenges to the current U.S.-led international order and its likely future."
--David A. Lake, Global Governance
Review
[A]mbitious and thought-provoking. Gideon Rachman
Review
This is a valuable work of international relations theory.
David A. Lake - Global Governance
Review
"Ikenberry's book is a cogently developed argument that builds upon his previous writings and will be a point of reference for the 'international liberal' literature."
--Jakub J. Grygiel, Claremont Review of Books
Review
"[T]he sheer breadth of the work, the clarity of the presentation . . . and the synthesis of an extraordinary amount of theoretical and historical literature will make the volume an important resource for students and scholars for a very long time."
--James M. McCormick, Perspectives on Politics
Review
One of Choice's Outstanding Academic Titles for 2011: Top 25 Books
Review
"Ikenberry impresses with his range of concerns, by his drive to formulate clear and parsimonious propositions about interstate relations, and by the pains he takes to express himself with clarity and precision. He announces his lines of argument, develops them, repeats them, and for good measure cross references them."
--Michael H. Hunt, Political Science Quarterly
Review
"The book elaborates on how America crafted and created 'cooperative security'--arguably the most important innovation in national security in the 20th century."
--Wang Yong, Shanghai Daily
Review
“For decades, Ninkovich has pioneered profound and sweeping works on the history of American foreign relations, most notably on the complex interaction of culture, writ large, on diplomacy. This book is no exception. Ninkovich explores how America rose to power, buffeted by the winds of globalization that shaped its culture, society, and ideology. His conceptualization moves beyond new and old approaches by placing the United States not just in the world, but in a global society. The scholarship is sound, the grasp on theory is breathtaking, and the method of weaving together external and internal transformative forces is original. This tour de force situates the author among the intellectual leaders of international relations history.”
Review
“‘Marvelous is the word to characterize this book. It is a marvel of insight, reflection, and analysis. Displaying the erudition, depth, and wit that readers have long since come to expect from him, Ninkovich has produced a strikingly original account of the United Statess two centuries of experience in the world. He combines ascents to heights of philosophical discourse with consistent exercise in down-to-earth skepticism toward ideologies and intellectual constructs, including his own emphasis on globalism. No one who cares about America and the world can afford not to read this book.”
Review
“Frank Ninkovich has done it again. The Global Republic offers a wide-ranging and original account of Americas place in the modern world. A pioneer in bringing culture to the study of American foreign relations, Ninkovich deftly weaves together culture, politics, and economics in this impressive and counterintuitive analysis of what did—and didn't—make the United States an exceptional world power.”
Review
“We often now speak of ‘America in the World and Ninkovich has firmly put the world in the nations history. His provocative book challenges us to move beyond the categories of American exceptionalism that historians have too often leaned upon to see globalization, and the ability of the United States to ride and guide its waves, as a decisive force in the nations status in the world.”
Review
“Frank Ninkovich delivers a bold and compelling argument in this brilliant book. Challenging a generation of scholarship on the history of U.S. foreign relations, he rejects American exceptionalism by stressing the power of globalization itself. The result is an innovative work that moves from American attempts to join international society at the turn of the century, through efforts to rescue it amid global war and Cold War conflict, into the unsettling dilemmas of our own era. For all seeking a fresh interpretation of America’s engagement with the world, The Global Republic provides a striking new approach.”
Review
and#8220;This is a sophisticated yet very readable analysis of Canadian-American relations. Well-grounded in the borderlands literature, Bootleggers and Borders offers a nice balance of national histories intertwined with the importance of regional identities and cross-border ties in the Pacific Northwest.and#8221;and#8212;Robert Campbell, dean of Arts and Sciences at Capilano University, Canada, and the author of Sit Down and Drink Your Beer: Regulating Vancouverand#8217;s Beer Parlours, 1925
Review
and#8220;In the rapidly growing field of Canada-U.S. borderlands history, Moore has been, to date, the only scholar exploring the rich, fascinating, and completely unknown story of prohibition and bootlegging in the Pacific Northwest.and#8221;and#8212;Sheila McManus, associate professor of history at the University of Lethbridge, Canada, and the author of The Line Which Separates: Race, Gender, and the Making of the Alberta-Montana Borderlands
Review
"Frank Ninkovichs The Global Republic . . . illuminates recent events and forecasts trajectories without pandering or prejudice. It eschews cheap shots for subtle insights. It is passionate and dispassionate. It is great history."
Review
“[Ninkovich] asserts that Americas climb as a world power was not driven from its conception by an abiding missionary quest. Rather, the author says it was an inadvertent consequence of responding and adapting to the pressures of fast-moving globalization in the 19th and 20th centuries in an effort to keep alive the American dream and way of life. . . . Ninkovichs interpretation explaining Americas ascension to world dominance will intrigue readers of the history of American foreign policy.”
Synopsis
In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States engaged in the most ambitious and far-reaching liberal order building the world had yet seen. This liberal international order has been one of the most successful in history in providing security and prosperity to more people. But in the last decade, the American-led order has been troubled. Some argue that the Bush administration, with its war on terror, invasion of Iraq, and unilateral orientation, undermined this liberal order. Others argue that we are witnessing the end of the American era. Liberal Leviathan engages these debates.
G. John Ikenberry argues that the crisis that besets the American-led order is a crisis of authority. A political struggle has been ignited over the distribution of roles, rights, and authority within the liberal international order. But the deeper logic of liberal order remains alive and well. The forces that have triggered this crisis--the rise of non-Western states such as China, contested norms of sovereignty, and the deepening of economic and security interdependence--have resulted from the successful functioning and expansion of the postwar liberal order, not its breakdown. The liberal international order has encountered crises in the past and evolved as a result. It will do so again.
Ikenberry provides the most systematic statement yet about the theory and practice of the liberal international order, and a forceful message for policymakers, scholars, and general readers about why America must renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the world and pursue a more enlightened strategy--that of the liberal leviathan.
Synopsis
A new vision for the American world order
In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States engaged in the most ambitious and far-reaching liberal order building the world had yet seen. This liberal international order has been one of the most successful in history in providing security and prosperity to more people. But in the last decade, the American-led order has been troubled. Some argue that the Bush administration, with its war on terror, invasion of Iraq, and unilateral orientation, undermined this liberal order. Others argue that we are witnessing the end of the American era. Liberal Leviathan engages these debates.
G. John Ikenberry argues that the crisis that besets the American-led order is a crisis of authority. A political struggle has been ignited over the distribution of roles, rights, and authority within the liberal international order. But the deeper logic of liberal order remains alive and well. The forces that have triggered this crisis--the rise of non-Western states such as China, contested norms of sovereignty, and the deepening of economic and security interdependence--have resulted from the successful functioning and expansion of the postwar liberal order, not its breakdown. The liberal international order has encountered crises in the past and evolved as a result. It will do so again.
Ikenberry provides the most systematic statement yet about the theory and practice of the liberal international order, and a forceful message for policymakers, scholars, and general readers about why America must renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the world and pursue a more enlightened strategy--that of the liberal leviathan.
Synopsis
In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States engaged in the most ambitious and far-reaching liberal order building the world had yet seen. This liberal international order has been one of the most successful in history in providing security and prosperity to more people. But in the last decade, the American-led order has been troubled. Some argue that the Bush administration, with its war on terror, invasion of Iraq, and unilateral orientation, undermined this liberal order. Others argue that we are witnessing the end of the American era. Liberal Leviathan engages these debates.
G. John Ikenberry argues that the crisis that besets the American-led order is a crisis of authority. A political struggle has been ignited over the distribution of roles, rights, and authority within the liberal international order. But the deeper logic of liberal order remains alive and well. The forces that have triggered this crisis--the rise of non-Western states such as China, contested norms of sovereignty, and the deepening of economic and security interdependence--have resulted from the successful functioning and expansion of the postwar liberal order, not its breakdown. The liberal international order has encountered crises in the past and evolved as a result. It will do so again.
Ikenberry provides the most systematic statement yet about the theory and practice of the liberal international order, and a forceful message for policymakers, scholars, and general readers about why America must renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the world and pursue a more enlightened strategy--that of the liberal leviathan.
Synopsis
"John Ikenberry, America's leading scholar of international affairs, brilliantly relates theory to historical change in his timely advocacy of a new U.S. foreign policy."--Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies
"Nobody has thought longer or deeper about the nature of the American liberal world order than John Ikenberry. Tough-minded yet visionary and optimistic, this inspirational volume should become required reading for all those tasked with the great responsibility of steering us to safety through the very choppy international waters into which we are now heading."--Michael Cox, London School of Economics and Political Science
"Liberal Leviathan traces the intimate connections between the emergence of a largely liberal international system and the concentration of global power in the United States in the twentieth century. The marriage of power and principle in the United States has been central to the emergence of the liberal order, but Ikenberry shows that it is also corrosive of that order. As a consequence both of U.S. foreign policy activism and gradual shifts in the distribution of world power, the liberal order faces significant new challenges. This book traces alternative paths through which these challenges might be met."--Barry Posen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Liberal Leviathan offers a masterful deliberation on American power, international change, and the global order. It will no doubt take its place as a seminal volume in international relations, one that helps define the debate about emerging changes in the global distribution of power. I can think of few volumes comparable in their conceptual clarity and ambition. A must-read."--Charles A. Kupchan, author of How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace
"Liberal Leviathan is an ambitious, comprehensive, and deeply learned study of the American-led international political order. I am confident that it will stand as a major and lasting contribution to scholarship and to the public conversation about United States foreign policy. This is a big and important book."--William C. Wohlforth, coauthor of World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy
Synopsis
In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States engaged in the most ambitious and far-reaching liberal order building the world had yet seen. This liberal international order has been one of the most successful in history in providing security and prosperity to more people. But in the last decade, the American-led order has been troubled. Some argue that the Bush administration, with its war on terror, invasion of Iraq, and unilateral orientation, undermined this liberal order. Others argue that we are witnessing the end of the American era.
Liberal Leviathan engages these debates.
G. John Ikenberry argues that the crisis that besets the American-led order is a crisis of authority. A political struggle has been ignited over the distribution of roles, rights, and authority within the liberal international order. But the deeper logic of liberal order remains alive and well. The forces that have triggered this crisis--the rise of non-Western states such as China, contested norms of sovereignty, and the deepening of economic and security interdependence--have resulted from the successful functioning and expansion of the postwar liberal order, not its breakdown. The liberal international order has encountered crises in the past and evolved as a result. It will do so again.
Ikenberry provides the most systematic statement yet about the theory and practice of the liberal international order, and a forceful message for policymakers, scholars, and general readers about why America must renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the world and pursue a more enlightened strategy--that of the liberal leviathan.
Synopsis
"John Ikenberry, America's leading scholar of international affairs, brilliantly relates theory to historical change in his timely advocacy of a new U.S. foreign policy."--Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies
"Nobody has thought longer or deeper about the nature of the American liberal world order than John Ikenberry. Tough-minded yet visionary and optimistic, this inspirational volume should become required reading for all those tasked with the great responsibility of steering us to safety through the very choppy international waters into which we are now heading."--Michael Cox, London School of Economics and Political Science
"Liberal Leviathan traces the intimate connections between the emergence of a largely liberal international system and the concentration of global power in the United States in the twentieth century. The marriage of power and principle in the United States has been central to the emergence of the liberal order, but Ikenberry shows that it is also corrosive of that order. As a consequence both of U.S. foreign policy activism and gradual shifts in the distribution of world power, the liberal order faces significant new challenges. This book traces alternative paths through which these challenges might be met."--Barry Posen, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
"Liberal Leviathan offers a masterful deliberation on American power, international change, and the global order. It will no doubt take its place as a seminal volume in international relations, one that helps define the debate about emerging changes in the global distribution of power. I can think of few volumes comparable in their conceptual clarity and ambition. A must-read."--Charles A. Kupchan, author of How Enemies Become Friends: The Sources of Stable Peace
"Liberal Leviathan is an ambitious, comprehensive, and deeply learned study of the American-led international political order. I am confident that it will stand as a major and lasting contribution to scholarship and to the public conversation about United States foreign policy. This is a big and important book."--William C. Wohlforth, coauthor of World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy
Synopsis
For decades the United States has been the most dominant player on the worlds stage. The countrys economic authority, its globally forceful foreign policy, and its leading position in international institutions tend to be seen as the result of a long-standing, deliberate drive to become a major global force. Furthermore, it has become widely accepted that American exceptionalismthe belief that America is a country like no other in historyhas been at the root of many of the countrys political, military, and global moves. Frank Ninkovich disagrees.
One of the preeminent intellectual historians of our time, Ninkovich delivers here his most ambitious and sweeping book to date. He argues that historically the United States has been driven not by a belief in its destiny or its special character but rather by a need to survive the forces of globalization. He builds the powerful case that American foreign policy has long been based on and entangled in questions of global engagement, while also showing that globalization itself has always been distinct fromand sometimes in direct conflict withwhat we call international society.
In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States unexpectedly stumbled into the role of global policeman and was forced to find ways to resolve international conflicts that did not entail nuclear warfare. The United States's decisions were based less in notions of exceptionalism and more in a need to preserve and expand a flourishing global society that had become essential to the American way of life.
Sure to be controversial, The Global Republic compellingly and provocatively counters some of the deepest and most common misconceptions about Americas history and its place in the world.
Synopsis
Between 1920 and 1933 the issue of prohibition proved to be the greatest challenge to Canada-U.S. relations. When the United States adopted national prohibition in 1920and#8212;ironically, just as Canada was abandoning its own national and provincial experiments with prohibitionand#8212;U.S. tourists and dollars promptly headed north and Canadian liquor went south. Despite repeated efforts, Americans were unable to secure Canadian assistance in enforcing American prohibition laws until 1930.
and#160;Bootleggers and Borders explores the important but surprisingly overlooked Canada-U.S. relationship in the Pacific Northwest during Prohibition. Stephen T. Moore maintains that the reason Prohibition created such an intractable problem lies not with the relationship between Ottawa and Washington DC but with everyday operations experienced at the border level, where foreign relations are conducted according to different methods and rules and are informed by different assumptions, identities, and cultural values.
and#160;Through an exploration of border relations in the Pacific Northwest, Bootleggers and Borders offers insight into not onlyand#160;the Canada-U.S. relationship but alsoand#160;the subtle but important differences in the tactics Canadians and Americans employed when confronted with similar problems. Ultimately, British Columbiaand#8217;s method of addressing temperance provided the United States with a model that would become central to its abandonment and replacement of Prohibition.and#160;
Synopsis
Frank Ninkovichs revisionist history of Americas relation to the world debunks American exceptionalism once and for all by showing how Americas role in the world has been driven less by its ideals than by its fears. What makes the United States special in the global arena is not its economic dominance, its aggressive foreign policy, or its influence over international institutions. Rather, the United States has become distinctive through its deep-seated and long-standing engagement with the forces of globalizationas well as the threats that they represent or embody. The United States has been exceptionally aware of globalizing forces because it has come to have the most to lose on their account. This magisterial overview of the real history of Americas role in the world will demystify, clarify, and -- depending on your politics -- enrage.
About the Author
Frank Ninkovich is professor emeritus of history at St. Johns University, New York. He is the author of many books, including Modernity and Power and The Wilsonian Century, both also published by University of Chicago Press.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter One: Provincial Prelude
Chapter Two: Global Society and the Challenge to Exceptionalism
Chapter Three: Gaining Entrée: The United States Joins the Club
Chapter Four: The Wilsonian Anomaly; or, The Three Faces of Wilsonianism
Chapter Five: Restarting Global Society in the 1920s
Chapter Six: The War for International Society: The Coming of World War II
Chapter Seven: Economics versus Politics in the Reinvention of International Society
Chapter Eight: Ideology and Culture as Ingredients of the Cold War
Chapter Nine: Americanization, Globalization, and the End of the Cold War
Chapter Ten: Global Aftermath
Concluding Thoughts
Appendix: Historians and Exceptionalism
Notes
Index