The New Cambridge History of American Foreign Relations

This book explores the conditions of international relations from the end of WWII to the present, focusing on the American determination to provide world leadership.

Warren I. Cohen (Author)

9780521763622, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 May 2013

396 pages, 7 maps
23.1 x 15.7 x 3.6 cm, 0.75 kg

'Few historians can match Warren I. 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

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 of the updated edition 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 character of the American political system is explored, including the separation of political powers and the role of interest groups that prompted American leaders to exaggerate dangers abroad to enhance their domestic power. This new edition examines the conditions in the international system from the end of World War II to the present, focusing on the American determination to provide world leadership.

List of maps
General editor's introduction
Acknowledgments
Part I. The Cold War: 1. At war's end: visions of a new world order
2. Origins of the Cold War
3. The Korean War and its consequences
4. New leaders and new arenas in the Cold War
5. Crisis revolution
6. America's longest war
7. The rise and fall of détente
8. In God's country
9. America and the world, 1945–91
Part II. After the Cold War: 10. The new world order
11. The 'war' against terrorism
Bibliographic essay
Index.

Subject Areas: Diplomacy [JPSD], International relations [JPS], History of the Americas [HBJK], General & world history [HBG], History [HB]