America's Mission: The United States and the Worldwide Struggle for Democracy in the Twentieth Century (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics, 3)

Thomas Jefferson was the first president to insist that a world composed of democratic states would best enhance America's goals. Woodrow Wilson first fully described this as a philosophy for guiding foreign affairs. Wilsonianism and liberal democratic internationalism have come to be synonomous terms. Since then, the most consistent belief of US presidents about foreign policy has been that US security is best served by the expansion of democracy worldwide. Most administrations even before Wilson believed that the democratic form of government created nations less prone to war and more co-operative in trade than any other form. By the beginning of the 1900's, we were already making efforts to create governments in our image. The difference between this and Imperialism? - after applying the miracle cure, that country would be left autonomous, without having to answer to the US or any other country except by agreements beneficial to both. Wilsonian philosophy has been best represented by the administrations of Wilson, FDR, Truman, and Reagan; almost absent during the administrations of Johnson, Nixon, and Ford (the ultimate Realists); and present to intermediate degrees in all the others. Meanwhile, the philosophy of Realism - that the threat of war by any given nation is the ultimate currency in world affairs - has predominated in the academic US. The mixture of degrees of Realism with degrees of Wilsonianism in any given administration has frequently resulted in the US backing of authoritarian regimes - to thwart the spread of Communism. Countries represented include Japan, Germany, Russia, Philipines, multiple Latin American and Caribbean countries, Iran, Viet Nam, and a few in Africa. Interventions have included a combination of economic, political and military activities, depending on the judgement of the sitting president. "American Mission" endorses Wilsonianism over Realism, but the authors also endorse Realism (to an extent) by offering repeated examples of unwise efforts by US presidents to force a democratic government onto people unwilling or unready to accept it. On the other hand, the restructuring of Germany and Japan after WWII are examples of the tremendous benefits that accrue when democratization is successful. Among the unanswered questions is "what would have happened if we had done nothing." The authors think the world of today would be much less democratized. There's no way to know that, but along with the successes, our efforts are littered with failures, complicated by the complex politics and maneuverings of the cold war. The way each president handled foreign affairs, from Wilson to Clinton, is discussed in detail. All of them had opportunities to democratize. Whatever the degree of an administration's action or inaction, the authors' retrospectoscopes showed that all presidents could have done better - some of them much better. This scenario suggests how complex the situations were. The US was never the only actor on the stage, there were always power structures already in place built up over centuries, and many of them were subsequently shown to be unripe for democratic rule. Such was not the case in Japan and Germany, or in Guatemala where the opportunity was missed. In many instances, serious efforts to democratize a country failed because the US stopped short of correcting a complicating wealth imbalance. The poster child for this scenario is the Philipines. As in Japan, 50-100 families in the Philipines had all the wealth in the form of land and therein lay the power. In Japan, McArthur nationalized these huge estates and distributed to the peasant farmers the equivalent of "30 acres and a mule." Democratization worked. In the Philipines, the US set up all the democratic infrastructures but failed to break up the vast wealth discrepancies. The land-holders therefore filled all the available governmental slots and maintained their wealth at the expense of the peasant majority. This is an excellent review and interpretation of history but it was published in 1995. Bush is the only president who has gone beyond Wilsonianism to pre-emptive strikes - picking a country that could be virtually impossible to democratize, and then not having a plan beyond "shock and awe." Had Bush read this book it's highly unlikely he would have made such a decision. Of course, he's not the kind of person who would read such a book. One of the co-authors has a new book out now covering this most recent fiasco, called "A Pact With the Devil." I ordered it yesterday. The Strength And Prestige Of Democracy Worldwide At The End Of The Twentieth Century Are Due In Good Measure To The Impact Of America On International Affairs, Argues Tony Smith. Here For The First Time Is A Book That Documents The Extraordinary History Of American Foreign Policy With Respect To The Promotion Of Democracy Worldwide, An Effort Whose Greatest Triumph Came In The Occupations Of Japan And Germany But Whose Setbacks Include Interventions In Latin America And Vietnam. As Americans Ponder The Challenges Of World Affairs At The End Of The Cold War, Smith Suggests That They Think Back To Other Times When Washington's Decisions Were Critical: Not Only To The End Of The World Wars In 1918 And 1945, But To The End Of The Spanish-american War In 1898 And The Civil War In 1865 As Well. They Will Find That In The Aftermath Of Victory, Washington Determined To Win The Peace By Promoting A Concept Of National Security Calling Ultimately For Democratic Government In Europe, Latin America, And The Far East. So The Congress Set Out To Reconstruct The South In 1867; America Aimed To Democratize The Philippines In 1898; Wilson Sought To Make The World Safe For Democracy, First In Latin America And Then, After 1918, In Central And Eastern Europe; Fdr And Truman Dictated The Democratization Of Japan And Germany And Called For Democracy In Eastern Europe After 1945; Kennedy Promoted The Alliance For Progress In Latin America; Carter Launched His Human Rights Campaign; Reagan (the Most Wilsonian Of Wilson's Successors) Heralded An International Democratic Revolution; Bush Called For A New World Order; And Clinton Declared That Our Overriding Purpose Must Be To Expand And Strengthen The World's Community Of Market-based Democracies.. Through A Study Of Selected Countries - Most Notably Germany, Japan, The Philippines, The Dominican Republic, Iran, And Nicaragua (but Also Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Greece, South Africa, And Russia) - Smith Reviews The American Record Both In Local Terms And With Respect To Its Impact On World Politics. Smith's Story Is At Once That Of The Central Thrust Of American Foreign Policy In The Twentieth Century, And That Of The Central International Political Struggle Of The Period Among Nationalists Wedded To Rival Ideologies Of Fascism, Communism, And Democracy, Each Striving To Dominate World Affairs. Now That This Struggle Appears To Be Over, The Question Is Whether Democracy Can Consolidate Its Position As The Sole Legitimate Form Of Government Worldwide, So Creating A Common Form Of Government To Express The Nationalist Sentiments That Continue To Be The Hallmark Of This Century. Foreword / Richard C. Leone -- The United States And The Global Struggle For Democracy -- Liberal Democratic Internationalism And American Foreign Policy, 1898-1921 -- Democracy In The Philippines -- Wilson And Democracy In Latin America -- Wilson And A World Safe For Democracy -- Liberal Democratic Internationalism, 1933-1947 -- Fdr And World Order: Globalizing The Monroe Doctrine -- Democratizing Japan And Germany -- Liberal Democratic Internationalism And The Cold War, 1947-1977 -- Eisenhower And His Legacy, 1953-1977 -- Kennedy's Alliance For Progress, 1961-1965 -- Liberal Democratic Internationalism And The Cold War, 1977-1989 -- Carter's Human Rights Campaign -- Reagan's Democratic Revolution -- Toward The Year 2000 -- After The Cold War: Wilsonianism Resurgent? Tony Smith. A Twentieth Century Fund Book. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [419]-444) And Index. 000_FrontMatter......Page 1 001_Chapter 1......Page 19 002_Chapter 2......Page 53 003_Chapter 3......Page 78 004_Chapter 4......Page 102 005_Chapter 5......Page 129 006_Chapter 6......Page 164 007_Chapter 7......Page 195 008_Chapter 8......Page 232 009_Chapter 9......Page 255 010_Chapter 10......Page 284 011_Chapter 11......Page 327 012_BackMatter......Page 364 This is an examination of America's self-appointed mission to bring democracy to those parts of the world which lacked it and still do. Through a study of selected countries, the text reviews the American record both in local terms and with respect to its impact on world politics.