American umpire : the new rules of world order, 1776 to the present / Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cobbs, Elizabeth.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relations.

International organization.

World politics.

United States--Foreign relations.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 440 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Commentators frequently call the United States an empire: occasionally a benign empire, sometimes an empire in denial, and often a destructive empire. Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman asserts instead that, because of its unusual federal structure, America has performed the role of umpire since 1776, compelling adherence to rules that gradually earned collective approval. This provocative reinterpretation traces America's role in the world from the days of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt to the present. Cobbs Hoffman argues that the United States has been the pivot of a transformation that began outside its borders and before its founding, in which nation-states replaced the empires that had dominated history. The "Western" values that America is often accused of imposing were, in fact, the result of this global shift. American Umpire explores the rise of three values-access to opportunity, arbitration of disputes, and transparency in government and business-and finds that the United States is distinctive not in its embrace of these practices but in its willingness to persuade and even coerce others to comply. But America's leadership is problematic as well as potent. The nation has both upheld and violated the rules. Taking sides in explosive disputes imposes significant financial and psychic costs. By definition, umpires cannot win. American Umpire offers a powerful new framework for reassessing the country's role over the past 250 years. Amid urgent questions about future choices, this book asks who, if not the United States, might enforce these new rules of world order?

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Introduction

1. To Compel Acquiescence

2. Umpire Attacked

3. Another Umpire than Arms

4. A Rowboat in the Wake of a Battleship

5. Territorial Expansion versus Saltwater Imperialism

6. The Open Door and the First International Rules

7. War against War

8. Up to the Neck and in to the Death

9. The Buck Stops Here

10. A Coercive Logic

Conclusion: Good Calls, Bad Calls, and Rules in Flux

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Formerly CIP.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780674073838

0674073835

9780674073814

0674073819

OCLC:

828869733