Suchergebnisse

This work examines the development of the ideas behind the theory of interdependent economic, political and military relations with the nations of Central America. It considers how policy-makers defined interdependence and how they went about accomplishing their goals.

Following World War II, America was witness to two great struggles. The first was onthe international front and involved the fight for freedom around the globe, as millionsof people in Asia and Africa rose up to throw off their European colonial masters. Inthe decades following 1945 dozens of new nations joined the ranks of independentcountries. Following the Civil War, the African-American voice in U.S. foreign affairscontinued to grow. In the late nineteenth century, a few African-Americans -- such asFrederick Douglass -- even served as U.S. diplomats to the "black republics" of Liberiaand Haiti. When America began its overseas thrust during the 1890s, African-Americanopinion was divided.

This book shows that race has played an important role in the nation's foreign relations from the time the first English colonists clambered onto the shores of the North American continent. It also shows that the colonists had already progressed rather far in defining themselves in racial terms.

"At first glance, it may be difficult to accept that race and racism play a major role, whether conscious or subconscious, in policy-making. But leaders are products of their upbringing and era, and even some of America's best-educated presidents and secretaries of state have been slave owners, segregationists, or bigots. Some belong to America's distant past, but it was not so long ago that the civil fights movement began to correct America's troubled race relations." "While race has rarely served as the primary motivating factor in America's foreign policies, Michael Krenn shows that it has functioned as both a powerful justification for U.S. actions abroad and a significant influence on their shape, direction, and intensity Portraying nonwhite races as inferior allowed U.S. policymakers to rationalize territorial expansion at the expense of Native Americans and Mexico, to demonize the enemy in wars fought against Filipino insurgents and Japanese soldiers, and to justify intervention in developing nations. Racism made America's leaders soft on European colonialism, and racial segregation laws in the United States were an obstacle to winning hearts and minds in the developing world during the Cold War. Race plays a more subtle role in U.S. foreign relations today, but speeches about turning the war on terrorism into a "crusade," the abuse of detainees in military prisons, and apathy toward genocide in Darfur can be explained, in part, by prejudice." "The Color of Empire challenges readers to recognize that American perceptions and prejudices about race have influenced the conduct of U.S. foreign relations from the colonial era to the present. This concise survey is an excellent introduction to the topic for both students and general readers."--Provided by publisher.

"Historical analysis of theories of interdependence in US policy since World War II. Examines their application toward Central America from 1950s-80s"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 57