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Masters of illusion : American leadership in the media age / Steven Rosefielde, D. Quinn Mills.
Table of contents only Available online
View online- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Rosefielde, Steven.
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Government information--United States.
- Government information.
- United States.
- Political culture--United States.
- Political culture.
- National security--United States.
- National security.
- United States--Politics and government.
- Politics and government.
- Physical Description:
- xxvii, 540 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Place of Publication:
- New York : Cambridge University Press, 2007.
- Summary:
- Assesses the forces that will buffet the United States and the global order through 2050.
- Contents:
- Part I National Security in the New Age
- 1 A World Wounded 3
- The Post-Cold War Security Environment 3
- The Need to Adjust Illusion to Reality 7
- Public Culture Distorts Reality 10
- Antiterrorism Measures Are Not Enough 12
- Mastering the Illusions of the Public Culture 15
- Chapter 1 Key Points 17
- 2 Long-Term Economic Realism 18
- Vortexes of Danger 18
- Why Economic Realism and Scientific Objectivity Are Sorely Needed 20
- Our Country Has Changed 22
- The Coming Threats to American Security 23
- Strategic Independence 25
- The Need for the International Order to Adapt to Changes among Nations and Regions of the World 28
- Presidential Candor 30
- Chapter 2 Key Points 33
- Part II American Public Culture and the World 35
- 3 "Smooth Comforts False" - The Illusions That Confuse Us 37
- Ways in Which Public Culture Influences Thinking about the World 41
- Harmonism 42
- Convergence 47
- Unjustified Optimism 52
- The Persistence of Public Culture 55
- Public Culture: A Formal Expression 58
- Chapter 3 Key Points 62
- 4 Towers of Illusion: Dysfunctional Behaviors 63
- Simplification 64
- Naive Motivations 64
- Either/Or Choices 65
- Overemphasis on Relationships 66
- How Simplification Misleads 67
- Hype 68
- Distortion 76
- Mastering the Illusions of Public Culture 80
- Chapter 4 Key Points 81
- 5 Mythomaniacs: The Sources of Our Illusions 82
- The American Public's Wishful Thinking 83
- A Glaring Dishonesty of Wishful Thinking 84
- The Delusions of Wishful Thinking 86
- Political Partisanship 88
- The Media 91
- Journalists 93
- Commercial Enterprises 95
- Presidents and Media 96
- Chapter 5 Key Points 99
- Part III American Public Culture and Ourselves
- 5 Champions of Freedom or Imperialists: How We're Perceived 103
- How We and Others See Us 103
- President Bush's Image of Americans versus the View from Abroad 104
- What Polls Say 106
- The Complex Character of America 108
- Self-Deceptive Duplicity 109
- Accusations of Imperialism 111
- America's Changed Message 115
- Chapter 6 Key Points 116
- 7 We're Different Now 117
- Going Where We Didn't Seek to Go 118
- How We Americans Have Changed 119
- A Change in Direction 121
- After World War I 123
- After World War II 124
- After the Vietnam War 124
- Changes after September 11 124
- Iraq - The First Big Test 124
- Hidden Motivations 126
- Our Fatal Flaw 128
- Chapter 7 Key Points 130
- Part IV The Reconfiguration of National Wealth and Power
- 8 The Economic Roots of American Power 133
- American Economic Success 133
- The American Economic Culture 135
- The American Economic Creed 137
- How National Economic Cultures Differ 139
- How Different Economic Cultures Yield Different Results 141
- The Economic Cultures of the Great Powers 142
- China 142
- Russia 146
- Japan 151
- Key Points - Japan's Unique Role 161
- European Union 161
- Chapter 8 Key Points 168
- 9 Economic Disparities among Nations 170
- The Consequences of Differing Economic Cultures 170
- The Statistical Record 173
- The Increasing Gap between Developed and Underdeveloped Nations 182
- Chapter 9 Key Points 183
- 10 Geopolitical Aspirations of the Nations 185
- Nationalist Fervor in China 185
- Chinese-American Rivalry 185
- The Trend of the Political Climate in China 188
- The Growth and Modernization of China's Military 195
- China in the Future 197
- Will China Be an Enemy? 199
- Reviving Superpower: Russia 204
- Rose-Colored Glasses about Russia 205
- Why the Soviet Union Imploded: Back to the Future 207
- Russia - A False Democracy 212
- Russia Will Rearm 214
- Rose-Colored Glasses Again 215
- Russia in the Distant Future 217
- The European Union: Nation-Building on a Super Scale 218
- How Europeans Seek to Bind America 223
- Britain's Special Situation 226
- The American Response to European Nation-Building 228
- Chapter 10 Key Points 229
- Part V Vortexes of Danger 233
- 11 A Witch's Brew of Troubles: The Next Big Wars 235
- Present and Looming Dangers 236
- Dangers of Many Sorts 237
- The Biggest Dangers Facing Us 238
- Terrorism 240
- Russian Military Resurgence: Rising from the Ashes - From Weakness to Strength Overnight 240
- Chinese Nationalism 244
- European Union Unification and Rivalry 246
- Interactions 246
- Lessons from Experience 248
- The MAD World - The Risk of Nuclear War 248
- Able Archer - 1983 252
- Nuclear Missile Defense (NMD) 254
- The Dynamics of World Disorder 257
- What Our Leaders Should Do 259
- Chapter 11 Key Points 262
- 12 The Middle East 264
- The Crescent of Fire 264
- Ummah 267
- Muslim Terrorism and Autocracy 267
- The Causes of Terrorism 270
- The Contest in the Middle East 277
- Palestine 279
- The Israeli-Palestinian Smokescreen 283
- The Broader Issues 285
- Justifying Terrorism 286
- Why We Invaded Iraq 288
- How the Administration Confused Us about the Purpose of the War in Iraq 291
- The Ongoing Battle in Iraq 294
- Satans Great and Small 298
- Containment 299
- Chapter 12 Key Points 301
- Part VI The American Response 303
- 13 Strategic Independence: An Ounce of Prevention 305
- An Alternative to Multilateralism 305
- Strategic Independence and Engagement 306
- National Missile Defense 308
- The Bush Doctrine 316
- Defense Policy Should Not be Tied to an Overreaching Foreign Policy 317
- A Window of Opportunity 318
- Preemption: An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure 320
- World War II Was Avoidable 322
- Preemption Could Have Prevented 9/11 323
- When to Preempt 325
- Calculating the Risk 326
- Successful Preemptions 328
- Napoleon 328
- Grenada, 1983 328
- Preemption and Nuclear Weapons 328
- The Soviet Union, 1948 329
- Soviet Union, Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 329
- Soviet Union, President Johnson, 1963 and Beyond 329
- Iraq, President George W. Bush, 2003 329
- Chapter 13 Key Points 330
- 14 America as Mature Superpower 332
- American Military Effectiveness 332
- Revolution in Military Affairs 333
- The Myth of War without Casualties 335
- A Full-Range Military 336
- The Case against Strategic Independence 337
- Why Strategic Independence Should Now Displace the Current American National Security Strategy 338
- Chapter 14 Key Points 340
- Part VII Leading Toward Peace
- 15 The Dangers of Overreach 343
- Overreach 343
- America as a Model for the World 343
- America's System Is Too Good to Transfer 344
- America's System Isn't Good Enough to Transfer 347
- Beyond Self-Affirming Sloganeering 350
- Democracy as the Wellspring of Peace 352
- The Danger of American Overreach 354
- Chapter 15 Key Points 357
- 16 The Transatlantic Trap 359
- The Multilateralist Vision 360
- Forecasts of a Declining America 362
- Collective Security Doesn't Work 363
- The Limits to Being a Team Player 366
- All the Way via Multilateralism to a World Government 371
- Multilateralism as an End 373
- Unilateral Partial Disarmament 375
- An Independent America 378
- Chapter 16 Key Points 382
- 17 The Middle Course 384
- Adjusting to Major Changes in the World 384
- Finding a Grand Strategy 387
- Responding to Russia 390
- Responding to China 391
- Shoulder or Shed: Are We Suited to Be a Hyperpower? 396
- Overreliance on Our Military 398
- An Inappropriate Public Culture 400
- Chapter 17 Key Points 402
- Part VIII American Presidential Leadership 403
- 18 How Public Culture Inhibits Presidential Leadership 405
- Poor Choices for President 405
- Weak Presidential Leadership 406
- The Geopolitics of Presidential Personalities 409
- Harry Truman 409
- John F.
- Kennedy as "a Little Boy" 410
- Vietnam 411
- The Cuban Missile Crisis 412
- Domestic Focus in Leadership Selection 414
- Weak Leadership in Foreign Affairs 415
- Misjudging Foreign Leaders 416
- American Presidents' Questionable Skills at War 418
- President Wilson 418
- President Franklin Roosevelt 419
- President Truman 420
- President Kennedy 420
- President Johnson 421
- President Nixon 421
- President Carter 421
- President Reagan 421
- President Bush, Senior 422
- President Clinton 422
- Grading President George W. Bush 423
- Don't Rely on Advisors 429
- The Greatest Presidential Challenges 432
- Chapter 18 Key Points 435
- 19 Choosing a Great President 436
- A Leadership Deficiency 436
- Preparation for the Presidency 439
- Qualifications for the Presidency 441
- Experience 441
- Demonstrated Personal Qualifications 442
- Chapter 19 Key Points 444
- 20 Master of Illusions 446
- A Strong Tide of Truth 447
- Truth Used to Be the First Casualty of War 449
- George W. Bush and Our Public Culture 453
- A Tactical Response versus a Strategic Objective 456
- A Game Played with Other People's Lives 460
- The Key Arguments of This Book 465
- Brief Key Points of This Book 470.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 509-523) and index.
- ISBN:
- 0521857449
- OCLC:
- 64098445
- Online:
- Publisher description
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