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If rich nations routinely become great powers, Zakaria asks, then how do we explain the strange inactivity of the United States in the late nineteenth century? By 1885, the U.S. was the richest country in the world. And yet, by all military, political, and diplomatic measures, it was a minor power.
To explain this discrepancy, Zakaria considers a wide variety of cases between 1865 and 1908 in which the U.S. considered expanding its influence in such diverse places as Canada, the Dominican Republic, and Iceland. Taking a position consistent with the realist theory of international relations, he argues that the President and his administration tried to increase the country's political influence abroad when they saw an increase in the nation's relative economic power. But they frequently had to curtail their plans for expansion, he shows, because they lacked a strong central government that could harness that economic power for the purposes of foreign policy.
America was an unusual power - a strong nation with a weak state. It was not until late in the century, when power shifted from states to the federal government and from the legislative to the executive branch, that leaders in Washington could mobilize the nation's resources for international influence.
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Subjects
International relations, Foreign relations, World politics, World history, United states, foreign relations, 1865-1898, United states, foreign relations, 1901-1913, United states, foreign relations, 1913-1921, New York Times reviewed, POLITICAL SCIENCE, Government, International, General, HISTORY / United States / 19th Century, Diplomatic relations, Relations internationales, Relations extérieures, Weltpolitik, Buitenlandse betrekkingen, Rijkdom, Politieke macht, Grandes puissancesPlaces
United StatesTimes
1865-1921Showing 3 featured editions. View all 3 editions?
Edition | Availability |
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1
From Wealth to Power
July 26, 1999, Princeton University Press
Paperback
in English
- New Ed edition
0691010358 9780691010359
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2
From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America's World Role
1999, Princeton University Press
in English
1400829186 9781400829187
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3
From wealth to power: the unusual origins of America's world role
1998, Princeton University Press
in English
0691044961 9780691044965
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Book Details
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"WHAT TURNS rich nations into "great powers"?"
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- Created April 29, 2008
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