Why American Foreign Policy Fails: Unsafe at Home and Despised Abroad

208 Pages·2008·2.1 MB·English

by  Dennis C. Jett

Why American Foreign Policy Fails
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Why American Foreign Policy Fails
Unsafe at Home and Despised Abroad
Dennis C. Jett
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WHY AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY FAILS
Copyright © Dennis C. Jett, 2008.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the
case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published in 2008 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN™
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Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, England RG21 6XS.
Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the
Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave
Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United
States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered
trademark in the European Union and other countries.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4039-6503-5
ISBN-10: 1-4039-6503-X
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jett, Dennis C., 1945–
Why American foreign policy fails: unsafe at home and despised
abroad / by Dennis Jett.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-4039-6503-X
1. United States—Foreign relations—2001– 2. Political leadership.
I. Title.
JZ1480.J48 2008
327.73—dc22
2007047248
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Macmillan India Ltd.
First edition: May 2008
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
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For Brian, Allison, and Noa, who are my inspiration.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1 Foreword and Introduction 1
2 What’s Changed and Why It’s Failing 19
3 Why It Isn’t More Apparent 43
4 How It Really Works 69
5 A Few Case Studies 107
6 Why It Won’t Change and How It Might 143
Notes 159
Bibliography 181
Index 193
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Acknowledgments
I must express appreciation to my editor at Palgrave, Toby Wahl, who
did not lose faith in this project even though it was a long time in
reaching a conclusion. I benefi ted greatly from any number of discus-
sions over the years with my colleagues at the University of Florida,
especially Richard Scher, Leann Brown, and Ken Wald. They will not
agree with all that is written here, but they were always willing to share
their insights. Also of great help were my assistants Mabel Cardec and
Ryan Kiggins; Emily Hue, Katie Fahey, and others at Palgrave; and the
staff of Macmillan India Ltd.
Of most importance in bringing this book to life were my wife,
Lynda Schuster, and my daughter Noa. Noa heard more about
foreign affairs in general and this project in particular than she ever
wanted to, but remained very supportive. Lynda has always been my
toughest editor and my most vital source of insight, sound advice and
moral support. For that and many other things, I will remain forever
in her debt.
Gainesville, Florida
September 2007
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