The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations: Volume 4, Challenges to American Primacy, 1945 to the Present - Softcover

Cohen, Warren I.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1107536138 ISBN 13: 9781107536135

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2015

Synopsis

Since their first publication, the four volumes of the Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations have served as the definitive source for the topic, from the colonial period to the Cold War. The fourth volume explores the conditions in the international system at the end of World War II, the American determination to provide leadership, and the security dilemma each superpower posed for the other. This revised and expanded edition incorporates recent scholarship and revelations, carrying the narrative through the years following the end of the Cold War into the administration of Barack Obama. The author points to the nature of the Stalinist state, with its secrecy and brutal dictatorship, to explain the course of the Cold War. The character of the American political system, including the separation of political powers and the role of interest groups, prompted American leaders to exaggerate dangers abroad to enhance their domestic power. The book also provides insight into Chinese and Soviet actions during the Korean War, the Taiwan Straits crises of the 1950s, and the Cuban missile crisis. It explains the rise and fall of détente in the 1970s, describes how imperial overreach strained both the United States and the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and reflects on what the Cold War meant for the world. This new edition also examines the failure of postwar administrations to provide a workable policy with which to confront the world after the demise of the Soviet Union.

About this title

About the Author:

Warren I. Cohen is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University, Distinguished University Professor Emeritus at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Senior Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Professor Cohen has published nineteen books, the best known of which is America's Response to China, 5th edition (2010). In addition to scholarly publications, Professor Cohen has written for Atlantic Monthly, the Baltimore Sun, the Christian Science Monitor, Dissent, Foreign Affairs, the International Herald Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Nation, the New York Times, the Times Literary Supplement and the Washington Post. He has served as the president of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations and chairman of the US Department of State Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation. Professor Cohen has also been a consultant on Chinese affairs to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the CIA, the Department of State, two governors of Michigan and three directors of the Michigan Department of Commerce.

Review:

"Warren Cohen qualifies as the dean of America's diplomatic historians. In this brilliant new volume, he brings to bear all his experience, perspective, and extraordinary insight to describe America's struggles for primacy in the world over the past seven decades. This book is a remarkable achievement." - James Mann, Johns Hopkins University

"Few historians can match Warren Cohen's masterful ability to synthesize and analyze the complex trajectory of American international history. In this revised and updated history of American foreign relations since 1945, he deftly shows how U.S. policy makers dealt with an array of challenges from Stalin to bin Laden. We see how vision and ambition intersected with threat perception and domestic politics to shape America's role in the international arena. This is a terrific book to consider for our classes." - Melvyn Leffler, University of Virginia

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1107536138
• ISBN 13: 9781107536135
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 396