Synopses & Reviews
The Carter Implosion critically examines the consequences of a U.S. President -- instead of confronting problems outside the narrow context of partisan rhetoric--adopting a self-consciously amateur style of diplomacy and leadership. In particular, Spencer focuses on the enormous gulf between the Carter administration's professed objectives and the tools it was willing to employ to achieve them. The author posits that the problem was not that President Carter proved too liberal or too conservative, but that he and his closest advisors lacked a sophisticated understanding of how nations behave. Because of his naivete, Carter's promise of inaugurating a new age of American greatness disintegrated by 1980.
Synopsis
The Carter Implosion critically examines the consequences of a U.S. President adopting a self-consciously amateur style of diplomacy. In particular, Spencer focuses on the enormous gulf between the Carter administration's professed objectives and the tools it was willing to employ to achieve them.
Synopsis
The Carter Implosion critically examines the consequences of a U.S. President adopting a self-consciously amateur style of diplomacy and leadership. In particular, Spencer focuses on the enormous gulf between the Carter administration's professed objectives and the tools it was willing to employ to achieve them. The author posits that the problem was not that President Carter proved too liberal or too conservative, but that he and his closest advisors lacked a sophisticated understanding of how nations behave. Because of his naivete, Carter's promise of inaugurating a new age of American greatness disintegrated by 1980.
Table of Contents
1975: The Wages of Munich
Some One Syllable Answers
"Sort of a Beacon Light"
The Retreat to Olympus
The Challenge of Khomeini
Nicaragua: Ends Without Means
The Carter Implosion: The U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A., 1979-1980
The Malthusian Nightmare and the Paradox of Inverse Power
Jimmy Carter, Zachary Taylor, and the 80th Lifetime
Bibliography
Index