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"Empire" by Integration is the first comprehensive survey of the American policy towards European integration from 1945 to the present day. Geir Lundestad argues that, unlike other Great Powers, the United States strongly supported the integration of the most important area under its influence: Western Europe. This integration was, however, to take place within an American-dominated Atlantic framework. In the provocative words of the author this was a policy of "empire" by integration. Professor Lundestad takes a clear, chronological approach to the subject, from the beginnings of European integration after the Second World War, the challenge to American policy on European integration by President Charles de Gaulle, and the modified support for European integration in the Nixon-Kissinger years through to the present revived support for European integration under the Clinton administration. "Empire" by Integration provides a succinct, provocative, and highly readable account of this crucial aspect of American-Western European relations. It will be an ideal textbook for use on courses including International Relations, US Modern History, and European Integration.
This book investigates the core question of why the United States, as a global superpower, actively promoted the integration of Western Europe during the post-World War II era. Geir Lundestad, a distinguished historian and former Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, utilizes extensive historical records to argue that American support for European unity was a strategic mechanism to maintain influence within an Atlantic framework. He characterizes this unique geopolitical strategy as an "empire" by integration, contrasting it with the traditional imperial models of other Great Powers. The text provides a rigorous analysis of how U.S. policy evolved from the immediate post-war reconstruction through the Cold War and into the late 1990s.
What You Will Find
Experts in the field of international history, such as John Lewis Gaddis and Melvyn P. Leffler, identify this work as a foundational and standard treatment of the subject. Readers frequently note the clarity of the prose and the author's ability to synthesize complex diplomatic history into a succinct, accessible format.
Page Count:
210
Publication Date:
1998-03-26
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0198782128
ISBN-13:
9780198782124
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