On being a superpower : and not knowing what to do about it / Seymour J. Deitchman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Deitchman, Seymour J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National security--United States.

National security.

United States.

United States--Military policy.

Military policy.

World politics--1989-.

World politics.

Physical Description:

xii, 350 pages : maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Boulder, Colo. : Westview Press, 2000.

Summary:

In On Being a Superpower, Seymour Deitchman addresses the kind of theoretical situations that keep U.S. international security experts awake at night. What would the United States do, Deitchman asks, if, in the Middle East, the House of Saud falls prey to Islamic fundamentalists who demand that American forces depart their Saudi Arabian bases? How would our government react to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan, undertaken in response to U.S. support for Taiwanese democracy? If a Central American drug cartel somehow gained de facto power over the smuggling lynchpin of the Panama Canal, what would the United States do? Deitchman examines these and other scenarios, details the likely U.S. response, then explains why the U.S. would act in such a manner, based on our society's current moral concerns, political rhetoric, and overall world view. While most international strategists conjure up doctrine, military history, and international theory from the past to explain the present, Deitchman focuses on the changing attitudes of today.

Contents:

Part 1 Fantasy

1 Scenarios 3

The State of the World 5

A Far East Scenario 10

A Middle East Scenario 17

A Caribbean Scenario 25

2 The Evaporation of the U.S.A. 35

Where the World Has Gone 35

The Evolution of USCAN 42

Part 2 Reality: the Background to National Security

3 Where Does the World Seem to Be Going? 63

Homogenizing the World 63

New Regional Powers Within Old Geopolitical Contexts 74

Beyond National Boundaries 91

4 Where Does the Nation Seem to Be Going? 106

The Twentieth-Century American Social Revolution 108

Attitudes 116

Trends 133

5 Dilemmas 167

Inside the United States 167

Beyond Our Borders 177

Part 3 The Core of National Security

6 The Armed Forces 191

The Armed Forces as Society 191

U.S. Armed Forces in the Twentieth Century 198

The Armed Forces Today and Tomorrow 225

7 A National Strategy? 268

A Strategy Emerging 270

Implementing the Strategy 280

Crafting Armed Forces to Match 283

Using the Armed Forces 301

Counterstrategies 307

8 The Real World 312

Linkages: Implementing Our Strategy 316

Linkages: The Armed Forces 324

The Real World 328.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-340) and index.

ISBN:

0813367751

OCLC:

41924809