The Case for Goliath: How America Acts as the World's Government in the 21st Century - Softcover

Mandelbaum, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1586484583 ISBN 13: 9781586484583

Publisher: PublicAffairs, 2006

Synopsis

How does the United States use its enormous power in the world? In The Case for Goliath, Michael Mandelbaum offers a surprising answer: The United States furnishes to other countries the services that governments provide within the countries they govern.

Mandelbaum explains how this role came about despite the fact that neither the United States nor any other country sought to establish it. He describes the contributions that American power makes to global security and prosperity, the shortcomings of American foreign policy, and how other countries have come to accept, resent, and exert influence on America's global role. And he assesses the prospects for the continuation of this role, which depends most importantly on whether the American public is willing to pay for it.

Written with Mandelbaum's characteristic blend of clarity, wit, and profound understanding of America and the world, The Case for Goliath offers a fresh and surprising approach to an issue that obsesses citizens and policymakers the world over, as well as a major statement on the foreign policy issues confronting the American people today.

About this title

Review:

"An eloquent statement of the vital role in America in twenty-first century global security." New York Review of Books "Mandelbaum...pulls aside the curtain of diplomatic civility to expose the crude and obvious reality that everyone prefers to ignore, at least in public. He explains coolly and clearly the various ways in which the United States now functions as a global government." New York Times Book Review"

Synopsis:

One of America's leading foreign policy thinkers provides an eye-opening look at America's new role in the world, the responsibilities it has undertaken and the challenges it faces. How does the United States use its enormous power in the world? In "The Case for Goliath", Michael Mandelbaum offers a surprising answer: The United States furnishes to other countries the services that governments provide within the countries they govern. Mandelbaum explains how this role came about despite the fact that neither the United States nor any other country sought to establish it. He describes the contributions that American power makes to global security and prosperity, the shortcomings of American foreign policy, and how other countries have come to accept, resent, and exert influence on America's global role. And, he assesses the prospects for the continuation of this role, which depends most importantly on whether the American public is willing to pay for it.

Written with Mandelbaum's characteristic blend of clarity, wit and profound understanding of America and the world, "The Case for Goliath" offers a fresh and surprising approach to an issue that obsesses citizens and policymakers the world over, as well as a major statement on the foreign policy issues confronting the American people today.

About this edition

• Publisher: PublicAffairs
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 1586484583
• ISBN 13: 9781586484583
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 312