War, the American State, and Politics since 1898

Examines how international wars have affected domestic politics and policymaking in the United States.

Robert P. Saldin (Author)

9781107690981, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 30 January 2014

272 pages, 11 b/w illus. 8 tables
23.5 x 15.5 x 1.8 cm, 0.46 kg

“War and democracy have been linked since the Peloponnesian War, and the modern state’s ability to make war has been inextricably linked to its ability to incorporate large numbers of citizens as taxpayers and especially as soldiers. Robert Saldin’s new book offers an important account of these dynamics in the context of American political development, and it is an account that surely warrants serious attention from students of American democracy. And of democratization more generally.”- Jeffrey C. Isaac, James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science, Indiana University

This book examines major foreign conflicts from the Spanish-American War through Vietnam, arguing that international conflicts have strong effects on American political parties, elections, state development, and policymaking. First, major wars expose and highlight problems requiring governmental solutions or necessitating emergency action. Second, despite well-known curtailments of civil liberties, wars often enhance democracy by drawing attention to the contributions of previously marginalized groups and facilitating the extension of fuller citizenship rights to them. Finally, wars affect the party system. Foreign conflicts create crises - many of which are unanticipated - that require immediate attention, supplant prior issues on the policy agenda, and engender shifts in party ideology. These new issues and redefinitions of party ideology frequently influence elections by shaping both elite and mass behavior.

1. Introduction
2. The 'Splendid Little War'
3. The war to end all wars
4. The good war
5. The forgotten war
6. The lost war
7. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP], History of the Americas [HBJK]