The Folly of Empire : What George W. Bush Could Learn From Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson

a Century Ago, The Theodore Roosevelt Administration Believed Building An American Empire Was The Only Way The U.s. Could Ensure Its Role In The World, But Came To See The Occupation Of The Philippines As America's Heel Of Achilles. Woodrow Wilson, Shocked By The Failure Of American Intervention In Mexico And By The Outbreak Of World War I, Came To See Imperialism As The Underlying Cause Of War And Set About Trying To Create An International System To Eliminate Empires. But, The Current Bush Administration, Despite The Lessons Of The Past, Has Revived The Older Dreams Of American Empire—under The Guise Of Democracy—even Touting The American Experience In The Philippines As A Success Upon Which The United States Could Build In Attempting To Transform The Middle East. With the Folly Of Empire , John B. Judis Shows That History Can Teach Us Lessons And Allow Political Leaders, If Sensitive To History, To Change Their Strategy In Order To Avoid Past Mistakes. Judis Shows How Presidents From Franklin Roosevelt To Bill Clinton Drew Upon What Theodore Roosevelt And Woodrow Wilson Learned About The Pitfalls Of Using American Power Unilaterally To Carve Out A World In America's Image. Exercising Leadership Through International Institutions And Alliances, The United States Was Able To Win The Cold War And The First Gulf War. But By Ignoring These Lessons, The Bush Administration Has Created A Quagmire Of Terror And Ethnic Conflict. By Examining America's Role In The International Community—then And Now— the Folly Of Empire Is A Sharp And Compelling Critique Of America's Current Foreign Policy And Offers A Direct Challenge To Neo-conservatives. publishers Weekly surveying American Foreign Policy Since The 1890s, New Republic Senior Editor Judis Argues That When Conservatives Compare George W. Bush's Post-9/11 Speech To Congress With Roosevelt's The Strenuous Life (a Speech That Endorsed U.s. Expansionism), They Leave Out Roosevelt's Later Doubts About Expansionism And His Support For International Law And Organization. While Adopting Woodrow Wilson's Goal Of Global Democracy, Conservatives, Judis Says, Have Disregarded Wilson's Recognition, Through The Example Of Mexico, That The U.s. Will Stumble When Trying To Impose A Government In The Manner Of Mckinley And Early Teddy Roosevelt: Unilaterally. Where Judis Identifies Imperialist Activity Over The Decades, He Finds It Grounded In America's Sense Of Mission. But He Also Finds American Torture In Iraq Echoing American Conduct Toward Native Americans And In The Philippines And Vietnam: Treatment Meted Out To Savages, Not Equals. He Praises Bill Clinton For Using Nato As Not Merely A Military Alliance But An Association Of Interest. While Judis Makes A Strong Case That Bush's Repudiation Of Clinton's Support For Numerous Treaties And Pacts Is Shortsighted, He Fails To Criticize International Institutions Systematically, Such As The United Nations' Failure In Rwanda Or The Curious Presence Of Nondemocratic Countries On The U.n. Commission On Human Rights. Agent, Rafe Sagalyn. (aug.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. A century ago, the Theodore Roosevelt administration believed building an American empire was the only way the U.S. could ensure its role in the world, but came to see the occupation of the Philippines as America's "heel of Achilles." Woodrow Wilson, shocked by the failure of American intervention in Mexico and by the outbreak of World War I, came to see imperialism as the underlying cause of war and set about trying to create an international system to eliminate empires. But, the current Bush administration, despite the lessons of the past, has revived the older dreams of American empire--under the guise of democracy--even touting the American experience in the Philippines as a success upon which the United States could build in attempting to transform the Middle East. With The Folly of Empire , John B. Judis shows that history can teach us lessons and allow political leaders, if sensitive to history, to change their strategy in order to avoid past mistakes. Judis shows how presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Bill Clinton drew upon what Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson learned about the pitfalls of using American power unilaterally to carve out a world in America's image. Exercising leadership through international institutions and alliances, the United States was able to win the Cold War and the first Gulf War. But by ignoring these lessons, the Bush administration has created a quagmire of terror and ethnic conflict. By examining America's role in the international community--then and now-- The Folly of Empire is a sharp and compelling critique of America's current foreign policy and offers a direct challenge to neo-conservatives. Contents......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 I. An Empire of Liberty: The Framework of American Foreign Policy......Page 22 II. America’s Imperial Moment......Page 40 III. Theodore Roosevelt and the Heel of Achilles......Page 62 IV. Woodrow Wilson and the Way to Liberty......Page 86 V. Woodrow Wilson and the Conscience of the World......Page 106 VI. Franklin Roosevelt and the Four Freedoms......Page 130 VII. Cold War Liberalism from Truman to Reagan......Page 142 VIII. Bush, Clinton, and the Triumph of Wilsonianism......Page 160 IX. George W. Bush Sees Evil......Page 176 X. George W. Bush and the Illusion of Omnipotence......Page 196 Conclusion......Page 212 Notes......Page 224 Acknowledgments......Page 242 B......Page 244 C......Page 245 D......Page 246 G......Page 247 I......Page 248 K......Page 249 M......Page 250 O......Page 251 R......Page 252 S......Page 253 U......Page 254 W......Page 255 Z......Page 256 "George W. Bush has revived the narrow nationalism of the Republicans who rejected the League of Nations in the 1920s. At the urging of his neoconservative supporters, he has revived the old, discredited imperialist strategy of attempting to unilaterally overthrow regimes deemed unfriendly by his administration. Bush rejects the role of international institutions and agreements in curbing terrorists, slowing global pollution, and containing potential threats. In The Folly of Empire, John B. Judis pits Woodrow Wilson's arguments against those of George W. Bush and the neoconservatives." "Judis draws contrasts between the Bush administration's policies, especially with regard to Iraq, and those of every administration from Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman through George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. The final message is a sobering one: Leaders ignore history's lessons at their peril."--BOOK JACKET.