E-raamat: America's Entangling Alliances: 1778 to the Present

"Is it in America's nature and self-interest to ally with other states or to go it alone? Jason W. Davidson documents and explains the full array of alliances that the United States has agreed to since 1778, when it allied with France during the Revolutionary War. He challenges the belief that the default setting for the nation is to shun international alliances, showing that this has been true in practice only if one uses a narrow, legalistic definition of alliance. In fact, US presidents and Congress have viewed it in the country's best interest to enter into a variety of formal and informal security arrangements over virtually the entire course of the country's history. Davidson documents thirty-four defense pacts, military coalitions, or security partnerships to date. He argues that the US demand for allies is best explained by looking at variance in its relative power and also in the threats it has faced. While there have been more alliances since World War II than preceding it, alliances are hardlyan aberration in US history. The book offers a corrective to long-held assumptions about US foreign policy and is relevant to current public and academic debates about the costs and benefits of America's allies"--

America's Entangling Alliances challenges the belief that the US resists international alliances. By documenting thirty-four alliances-including defense pacts, military coalitions, and security partnerships-Davidson finds that the US demand for allies is best explained by the evolution of US power.

A challenge to long-held assumptions about the costs and benefits of America’s allies.

Since the Revolutionary War, the United States has entered into dozens of alliances with international powers to protect its assets and advance its security interests. America’s Entangling Alliances offers a corrective to long-held assumptions about US foreign policy and is relevant to current public and academic debates about the costs and benefits of America’s allies.

Author Jason W. Davidson examines these alliances to shed light on their nature and what they reveal about the evolution of American power. He challenges the belief that the nation resists international alliances, showing that this has been true in practice only when using a narrow definition of alliance. While there have been more alliances since World War II than before it, US presidents and Congress have viewed it in the country’s best interest to enter into a variety of security arrangements over virtually the entire course of the country’s history. By documenting thirty-four alliances—categorized as defense pacts, military coalitions, or security partnerships—Davidson finds that the US demand for allies is best explained by looking at variance in its relative power and the threats it has faced.

America’s Entangling Alliances challenges the belief that the US resists international alliances. By documenting thirty-four alliances—including defense pacts, military coalitions, and security partnerships—Davidson finds that the US demand for allies is best explained by the evolution of US power.