Includes bibliographical references (pages 257-271) and index.
Contents:
Explaining the United States's demand for allies -- A lesser power and alliance for survival, 1778-1822 -- A regional power and defense pacts, 1823-1913 -- Multipolarity and military coalitions, 1914-1945 -- Bipolarity and defense pacts, 1946-1989 -- Unipolarity and security partnerships.
Summary:
"Is it in America's nature and self-interest to ally with other states or to go it alone? Jason W. Davidson documents and explains the full array of alliances that the United States has agreed to since 1778, when it allied with France during the Revolutionary War. He challenges the belief that the default setting for the nation is to shun international alliances, showing that this has been true in practice only if one uses a narrow, legalistic definition of alliance. In fact, US presidents and Congress have viewed it in the country's best interest to enter into a variety of formal and informal security arrangements over virtually the entire course of the country's history. Davidson documents thirty-four defense pacts, military coalitions, or security partnerships to date. He argues that the US demand for allies is best explained by looking at variance in its relative power and also in the threats it has faced. While there have been more alliances since World War II than preceding it, alliances are hardly an aberration in US history. The book offers a corrective to long-held assumptions about US foreign policy and is relevant to current public and academic debates about the costs and benefits of America's allies"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.