Toward a Foreign Policy for the Democratic Party
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12692986 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Kjølv Egeland (0000-0001-9818-698X, Centre d'études et de recherches internationales de Sciences Po, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 23 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 223-224 |
| Publication date | 2020-09-22 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Studies Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1468-2486 • E-ISSN: 1521-9488 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/isr/viaa068 |
| OpenAlex | W3089058150 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 3 |
“Donald Trump has pursued hegemony more openly than any of his predecessors,” writes Richard Ned Lebow. “However, the goals he seeks are not so different from those of prior administrations” (p. 9). Lebow is far from the first to criticize American foreign policy or the beltway blob. However, A Democratic Foreign Policy is comfortably one of the most stimulating contributions to the latest wave of this rapidly expanding genre (e.g., Mearsheimer 2018; Walt 2018). In it, Lebow provides a compelling, readable, and often ruthless critique of the assumptions and modus operandi of what he refers to as the “national security establishment,” as well as a recipe for a more progressive foreign policy. The purpose of the book, Lebow explains, is to outline a new foreign policy for a Democratic Party that appears to be moving left. Lebow begins his analysis with a puzzle: How can it be that the mightiest state the world has ever seen seems less and less able to persuade others to do what it wants? The answer, he suggests, lies in the establishment's counterproductive quest for hegemony. So far, so familiar. What most sets his book apart from other critiques of American foreign policy is its more far-reaching, and ultimately more satisfying, diagnosis. Most critics limit their interrogations to specific policies, choices, or administrations. Lebow, in contrast, demonstrates the deep-rooted ideological connections between foreign ventures (e.g., the invasion of Iraq in 2003, which most analysts now agree was a disastrous mistake) and long-running practices (e.g., nuclear deterrence, which most American observers continue to see as necessary and uncontroversial). What unites these otherwise disparate phenomena, he argues, is a culture that privileges threats over cooperation and stubborn resolve over careful analysis. As Lebow shows, American foreign policy has been powerfully influenced by southern honor codes, religious fervor, and the cultivation of respect for authority. In addition, Lebow maintains, the political process has been manipulated by a group of people, think tanks, and industries that stand to profit from conflict and belligerence. Any progressive government must wrest back control from these vested interests
Democracy · Foreign policy · Hegemony · Ideology · Law and economics · Mistake · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · International Development and Aid · International Relations and Foreign Policy · Political and Economic history of UK and US · Law
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |