The United States in a Troubled World: Essays in Interpretation

Description

This book presents an overview of the main changes in the United States' foreign policy in response to the transformations in the international order in the last decades. If, after the end of the Cold War, the USA invested in the universalization of market economy and in the strengthening of its military supremacy, new developments demanded reorientations in the country’s foreign strategy. The controversial military interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the 2008 economic crisis, the rise of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) and the rise of right-wing populism altered the global political landscape and demanded new responses from the most powerful country in the world. This volume brings together nine essays in which the founding member of the World International Studies Committee, Sebastião C. Velasco e Cruz, analyzes how the United States’ foreign policy responded to the growing challenges posed by this changing international order, discussing topics such as:  The evolution of the American geopolitical strategy after the end of the Cold War How US foreign policy reacted to challenges to security and dilemmas of the international orderBarack Obama's foreign policy and world politicsDonald Trump and the rise of populism in the USA US relations with BRICs and Latin America The United States in a Troubled World: Essays on Interpretation will be of interest to international relations and political science researchers both within and outside the United States.  Preface Acknowledgements Contents Chapter 1: A Problem of Method: The United States’ Grand Strategy – Debate, Policies, and Implications for Brazil Shifts in the International Arena and the Strategic Debate in the United States Strategy, Grand Strategy, and State Action: Theoretical Elements to Frame the Investigation References Chapter 2: Between Norms and Facts: Challenges to Security and Dilemmas of the International Order From National Defense to Cooperative Security “A Crime Against Humanity!” The Warlords Back to a Hobbesian World? Threats “New” and “Old” References Chapter 3: After the Cold War: Geopolitical Evolution, Scenarios, and Prospects Three Events A New Order? Transformations in the World Economy International Security in the Post-Cold War Period Considerations on the Debate Regarding the Configuration of World Power in the Post-Cold War Period Aspects of US Grand Strategy and Distribution of Power in the International System Metamorphoses: Challenges and Prospects References Chapter 4: The United States in India’s Mirror: Reflections on the Development Strategies and Foreign Relations of an Ascending Country Atypical Developmentalism: Particularities of the Indian Pattern of Development and Reform Planning with Democracy Heavy-Industry Priority The Restricted Space of Foreign Capital The “Gigantism” of the Public Sector Social Transformations in the Countryside and the Predominance of Family Farming Complementary Remarks Particularities of the Indian Reform Process Back to the Future: Trade Negotiations, International Alliances, and Outlook References Chapter 5: A New Course? Obama’s Choices and World Politics Policy Orientation Commitment to Reality? Hegemonic Consensus and the Obama Policy Where Is It? Where Is It Headed? Iraq Afghanistan Iran Russia References Chapter 6: The Tragedy of Diplomacy and Obama’s Foreign Policy Part I Part II Part III Part IV References Chapter 7: The Presence of Tradition: Populism in the United States Unusual Occurrences Trump and Populism The Roots of American Populism Populist Tradition in the United States Trump’s Election, Populism, and the Challenges of Democracy at Present References Chapter 8: A House Divided: Donald Trump and the Transformation of American Politics The Trump Phenomenon and a House Divided Mismatches: The Political Polarization Debate in The United States Severed Relations A Society Divided? Polarization: Determinants and the Obscure Realm of Affect Polarization and the Obscure Dimension of Sentiment Polarization as Effect and Strategic Goal The Conservative Movement, the Republican Party, and the Trump Case The Problem Better Defined The Conservative Movement Structural Change in the Political Communication System Politics Conceived of as War End of Cycle: Financial Crisis and the Uprising of the Republican Bases References Chapter 9: International Order? Inter-American Relations and Political Outlook for Latin America Some Preliminaries International Order Latin America “Concert and Disconcert” of the World Contested Hegemony and the Crusade Against Corruption War Operations in the Brazilian Theater The Brazilian Crisis and Latin America’s Challenges References Index