America's Mission

by Tony Smith, Richard C. Leone

The strength and prestige of democracy worldwide at the end of the twentieth century are due in good measure to the impact of America on international affairs, argues Tony Smith. Here for the first time is a book that documents the extraordinary history of American foreign policy with respect to the promotion of democracy worldwide, an effort whose greatest triumph came in the occupations of Japan and Germany but whose setbacks include interventions in Latin America and Vietnam.

Genres: Politics, History

480 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1994

About the author

Tony Smith is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Iowa State University of Science and Technology

Reviews

[Manar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony Smith does the difficult job of rationalizing conflicting facts. He argues, unpersuasively, in this book that democracy promotion has been the primary motive for U.S. foreign policy in the 20th century, using multiple cases as empirical guide:
1. The Philippines
2. The Wilson “Revolution”
3. World War II and the Democratizations of Japan and Germany
4. The Cold War
5. The Carter Years
6. The Reagan Doctrine
7. After the Cold War
8. The EU as an Agent of Democracy

[Max Nova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very thorough look at American foreign policy, the motivations behind it, and the causes of its successes and failures. The use of Japan and Germany as successes of containment was a bit surprising to me at first, but actually fit quite well in the long-term view of the trend of American containment

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely critical for understanding the principles of American democracy, how it differs from European democracy. Breaks down how America has spread and strengthened democracy. Particularly important reading in this period of declining democracy.

[Paul D. Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good historical overview of American efforts to promote democracy abroad; some flawed assumptions about how democracy grows undergirds much of the analysis; and the concluding chapters on the Bush and Obama administrations can be pretty much ignored.

[Blake Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informational on the us spread of democracy abroad for the past century and how the strategy in spreading democracy has varied.