Why Wilson Matters : The Origin of American Liberal Internationalism and Its Crisis Today / Tony Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Tony, author.

Series:

Princeton studies in international history and politics.

Princeton Studies in International History and Politics ; 152

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924--Influence.

Wilson, Woodrow.

Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924.

International relations.

Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.).

Diplomatic relations.

United States--Foreign relations--21st century.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (353 pages).

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2017]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

The liberal internationalist tradition is credited with America's greatest triumphs as a world power-and also its biggest failures. Beginning in the 1940s, imbued with the spirit of Woodrow Wilson's efforts at the League of Nations to "make the world safe for democracy," the United States steered a course in world affairs that would eventually win the Cold War. Yet in the 1990s, Wilsonianism turned imperialist, contributing directly to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the continued failures of American foreign policy.Why Wilson Matters explains how the liberal internationalist community can regain a sense of identity and purpose following the betrayal of Wilson's vision by the brash "neo-Wilsonianism" being pursued today. Drawing on Wilson's original writings and speeches, Tony Smith traces how his thinking about America's role in the world evolved in the years leading up to and during his presidency, and how the Wilsonian tradition went on to influence American foreign policy in the decades that followed-for good and for ill. He traces the tradition's evolution from its "classic" era with Wilson, to its "hegemonic" stage during the Cold War, to its "imperialist" phase today. Smith calls for an end to reckless forms of U.S. foreign intervention, and a return to the prudence and "eternal vigilance" of Wilson's own time.Why Wilson Matters renews hope that the United States might again become effectively liberal by returning to the sense of realism that Wilson espoused, one where the promotion of democracy around the world is balanced by the understanding that such efforts are not likely to come quickly and without costs.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

INTRODUCTION. Know Thyself: What Is "Wilsonianism"?

PART I. THE ESSENTIAL WILSON: WILSON'S WILSONIANISM

CHAPTER ONE. Woodrow Wilson on Democracy Promotion in America

CHAPTER TWO. Democracy Promotion through Progressive Imperialism

CHAPTER THREE. Democracy Promotion through Multilateralism

CHAPTER FOUR. Wilson's Wilsonianism

PART II. WILSONIANISM AFTER WILSON

CHAPTER FIVE. Wilsonianism: The Construction of an American Vernacular

CHAPTER SIX. The Rise of Neo- Wilsonian Theory

CHAPTER SEVEN. From Theory to Practice: Neo- Wilsonianism in the White House, 2001-2017

CONCLUSION. Reviving Liberal Internationalism

Acknowledgments

Notes

Index

Backmatter

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-320) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9780691183480

0691183481

OCLC:

1080551846