1st Edition

Theoretical Roots of US Foreign Policy Machiavelli and American Unilateralism

By Thomas M. Kane Copyright 2006
224 Pages
by Routledge

208 Pages
by Routledge

This volume explores the reasons why American leaders from the 1700s onwards frequently adopt policies of unilateralism. Thomas M. Kane presents fresh explanations for America’s invasion of Iraq and defiance of international agreements, which go much deeper than conventional critiques of particular presidents to examine the real significance of the September 11 attacks. As the only and... Read more
1. The Rogue Superpower 2. Political Freedom and Grand Strategy 3. New Ways and Methods 4. World Politics, World Wars 5. The Cold War 6. A New Rome? 7. Kicking Fortuna 8. Conclusion: Machiavelli’s Value Bibliography Index

Biography

Thomas M. Kane

This proposal compares favorably to its competition for a variety of reasons. For starters, most of its competitors are limited in their scope to events after 1945 or since 11 September 2001. Those works that do provide historical context do so selectively (as in the case of Johnson’s The Sorrows of Empire) to advance their arguments. Dr. Kane’s work is unique in that it suggests that works of theory can inform events of today.

Dr James Kiras

Dr. Kane’s effort to, at length, discuss the relationship between the Bush Administration’s foreign policy and Machiavelli is unusual and, as a result, I think the book has a good "niche."

Dr C. Dale Walton

On the whole, Dr. Kane’s work is an important corrective to the existing arguments about American unilateralism that center on President Bush’s personal interests and beliefs, or the "hijacking" of American national security policy by Vice President Cheney and his "cabal" of neoconservatives.

Dr Brian Auten