From Wealth to Power – The Unusual Origins of America′s World Role (Princeton Studies in International History and Politics) - Hardcover

Zakaria, Fareed

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691044961 ISBN 13: 9780691044965

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 1998

Synopsis

What turns rich nations into great powers? How do wealthy countries begin extending their influence abroad? These questions are vital to an understanding of the emergence of a new power - a source of instability in international politics. In this text, Fareed Zakaria seeks to answer these questions by examining one of the most puzzling cases of a rising power in modern history - that of the United States. If rich nations routinely become great powers, Zakaria asks, then how do we explain the strange inactivity of the United States in the late 19th century? By 1885, the US was the richest country in the world. And yet, by all military, political and diplomatic measures, it was a minor power. To explain this descrepancy, Zakaria considers a variety of cases between 1865 and 1908 when the US considered expanding its influence in such diverse places as Canada, the Dominican Republic and Iceland. Consistent with the realist theory of international relations, he argues that the President and his administration tried to increase the country's political influence abroad when they saw an increase in the nation's relative economic power. But they frequently had to curtail their plans for expansion, he shows, because they lacked a strong central government that could harness that economic power for the purposes of foreign policy. It was not until late in the century, when power shifted from states to the federal government and from the legislative to the executive branch, that leaders in Washington could mobilize the nation's resources for international influence.

About this title

About the Author

Fareed Zakaria is Managing Editor of Foreign Affairs, a contributing editor to Newsweek, and has been Adjunct Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He is a contributor to various publications, including the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement, International Security, and Slate and is coeditor of The American Encounter: The United States and the Making of the Modern World.

From the Back Cover

"Beautifully conceived; dazzlingly executed: Zakaria's theoretical penetration is matched by his mastery of the process of America's coming of age as a great power. The book casts a bright light on the past and the future--and the future of international politics."--Kenneth N. Waltz, Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University

"The theory of state-centered realism set forth in From Wealth to Power is the most important innovation in foreign policy theory.... This book shows how theory and history can be combined to improve the former and illuminate the latter. It is a superb example of qualitative social science analysis."--Samuel P. Huntington, Director, John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Harvard University

From the Inside Flap

"Beautifully conceived; dazzlingly executed: Zakaria's theoretical penetration is matched by his mastery of the process of America's coming of age as a great power. The book casts a bright light on the past and the future--and the future of international politics."--Kenneth N. Waltz, Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University

"The theory of state-centered realism set forth in From Wealth to Power is the most important innovation in foreign policy theory.... This book shows how theory and history can be combined to improve the former and illuminate the latter. It is a superb example of qualitative social science analysis."--Samuel P. Huntington, Director, John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, Harvard University

Edition details

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691044961
• ISBN 13: 9780691044965
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 210