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Summary
Summary
Belief in the United States as a force for good in the world runs deep. Yet an honest consideration reveals a history marred by great crimes and ordinary errors, alongside many achievements and triumphs. In this comprehensive account of American foreign relations from the nation's founding through the present day, the diplomatic historian Warren I. Cohen calls attention to the uses--and abuses--of U.S. international leadership and the noble as well as the exploitative ends that American power has wrought.
In A Nation Like All Others , Cohen offers a brisk, argumentative history that confronts the concept of American exceptionalism and decries the lack of moral imagination in American foreign policy. He begins with the foreign policy of colonial and postrevolutionary America, exploring interactions with European powers and Native Americans and the implications of slavery and westward expansion. He then traces the rise of American empire; the nation's choices leading up to and in the wake of the First World War; and World War II and renewed military involvement in foreign affairs. Cohen provides a long history of the Cold War, from its roots under Truman through the Korean and Vietnam Wars to the transformation of the international system under Reagan and Gorbachev. Finally, he surveys America's recent history in the Middle East, with particular attention to the mismanagement of the War on Terror and Abu Ghraib. Written with great depth of knowledge and moral clarity, A Nation Like All Others suggests that an unflinching look at the nation's past is America's best option to shape a better future.
Author Notes
Warren I. Cohen is Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. His Columbia University Press books include East Asian Art and American Culture (1992), East Asia at the Center: Four Thousand Years of Engagement with the World (2001), and America's Response to China: A History of Sino-American Relations (fifth edition, 2010).
Reviews (3)
Kirkus Review
Surveying American foreign policy and its discontents.The first ventures of the new United States in world affairs, writes Cohen (Emeritus, History/Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore County; The Challenge to American Primacy, 1945 to the Present, 2013, etc.), were mercantile; there were allies in the Revolution to be rewarded, but reward would come in the form of favorable trade concessions and not in political entanglements. Then James Monroe and his lieutenant, John Quincy Adams ("arguably the most skilled diplomat ever to serve as secretary of state"), came along to formulate a more comprehensive vision of foreign policy in the Monroe Doctrine, which effectively ordered the Old World to stay out of the affairs of the New World. The Old World did not follow to the letter, and neither did the U.S., occasioning still broader visions of international affairs, such as Theodore Roosevelt's enthusiastic endorsement of the notion of an American empire. Cohen deftly weaves many strands of past events into a coherent narrative, and though not much will come as news to students of American history, there are surprises nonetheless. For instance, Roosevelt pressed the Russian government to treat the country's Jews more humanely, but it was largely out of fear of an "influx of impoverished Jews" in America if that better treatment did not come--as indeed was the case. The "other" Roosevelt, Franklin, was a bit more cautious regarding the imperial project. As Cohen writes, he shared some of his compatriots' isolationist sentiments, which held that America's entry into World War I was misguided. Subsequent cycles of isolationism, such as the present, have not advanced America's cause or done anything to protect us, and there the author is sharply critical at points, especially of Bill Clinton, whose refusal to intervene in the Rwandan genocide was "the most reprehensible moment of his administration."As Cohen observes in this smart, useful account, the role of the U.S. in international affairs has been checkered, and it appears to be headed for a very bad patch indeed, given the current occupant of the White House.
Choice Review
For Cohen (history, Univ. of Maryland, Baltimore Country, and senior scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars), the US's foreign relations are surprisingly unremarkable. His detailed and veracious account tells the story of relative successes, inadvertant errors and blunders, and blatant abuses and crimes. In chapter 5 ("The New Empire") Cohen writes that "racism ran so deep in the national ethic that it inevitably carried over into the conduct of foreign affairs." Challenging the notion of American exceptionalism, this brief examination of American diplomacy criticizes the US for its lack of moral imagination from the Colonial era through the Trump presidency, noting especially the events of the 20th century. Cohen is critical of the policies that contributed to the rise of the US empire and the decisions that followed both world wars, the Cold War, the Vietnam War, and the War on Terror. Written with great clarity, A Nation like All Others is an important addition to the literature on US diplomacy. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. --Joe Mocnik, NDSU
Library Journal Review
The idea of American exceptionalism, that the United States would promote democracy, equality, and fairness around the globe has long been a feature of the nation's public approach to international relations. But in reality, we have had tragic blunders, expensive failures, and plenty of greed driven by crass imperialistic and economic motives-just like other nations in the world. Cohen (Distinguished Univ. Professor, Emeritus, Univ. of Maryland Baltimore Cty.; America's Response to China) is proud of but disappointed in the United States. He feels that the security demands during the Cold War era led to the abandonment of the high ideals that made this country great and offers a critical interpretation of the use and abuse of power and its many consequences. The "moral imagination" of our leaders is highlighted to show how that might have guided national policy to match the ideal, although it frequently was pushed aside in practice. Includes an index but no bibliography or reference notes. VERDICT A fast yet comprehensive read with wide appeal for those interested in how the country has evolved to its present uncomfortable condition.-Daniel Blewett, Coll. of DuPage Lib., Glen Ellyn, IL © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Preface | p. xi |
| Acknowledgments | p. xiii |
| 1 To Create a Nation | p. 1 |
| 2 A Not Quite Perfect Union | p. 6 |
| 3 A Rising Imperial Power | p. 16 |
| 4 Civil War | p. 24 |
| 5 The New Empire | p. 30 |
| 6 Teddy Roosevelt and the Great Power Game | p. 45 |
| 7 To Make the World Safe for Democracy | p. 52 |
| 8 World Leadership | p. 63 |
| 9 Franklin Roosevelt Leads the Nation to War | p. 83 |
| 10 Origins of the Cold War | p. 98 |
| 11 The Korean War as a Turning Point | p. 114 |
| 12 New Leaders and New Arenas | p. 128 |
| 13 On the Brink of Nuclear War | p. 148 |
| 14 Vietnam and the Lessons of Great Power Arrogance | p. 161 |
| 15 The Quest for Détente | p. 182 |
| 16 The Reagan Surprise - Enter Gorbachev | p. 204 |
| 17 The New World Order | p. 223 |
| 18 The Vulcans Rise-And Fall | p. 258 |
| 19 The Obama Promise | p. 283 |
| Last Thoughts | p. 295 |
| Index | p. 301 |
