America in the Shadow of Empires [electronic resource] /
Coates, D.author.
The focus of the book is the cost of empire, particularly the cost in the American case - the internal burden of American global leadership. The book builds an argument about the propensity of external responsibilities to undermine the internal strength, raising the question of the link between weakening and the global spread of American power.
America in the Shadow of Empires; Contents; Introduction; PART I: The Problem; CHAPTER 1: The Nature of Our Contemporary Condition; The US Global Military Footprint; The Cost of That Footprint; Signs of Diminishing Economic Performance; Weakening Economic Underpinnings: (1) Education; Weakening Economic Underpinnings: (2) Manufacturing; Weakening Economic Underpinnings: (3) Labor; Is America in Decline, on the Cusp, or Simply Resting?; CHAPTER 2: The Question of Empire; Is America an Empire?; What Is an Empire?; Is America an Empire and, If So, What Kind of Empire?; Going Forward
PART II: The ParallelsCHAPTER 3: The Glory That Was Rome; The Roman Empire in the West; Debating the Fall of Rome; Problems of Governance in an Empire of Size; The Management of the Army; The Economic Problems of a Slave-Based Economy; The Growing Fiscal Crisis of the Roman State; Problems of Class and Culture; The Possibility That America Is the New Rome; CHAPTER 4: Spain: The Rise and Fall of a Dynastic Empire; The Rise and Consolidation of the Spanish Empire; Explaining the Longevity of the Spanish Empire; Reasons for Decline: (1) Military; Reasons for Decline: (2) Financial
Reasons for Decline: (3) EconomicReasons for Decline: (4) Cultural; The Spanish Empire: The Last Rites; Final Thoughts; CHAPTER 5: The Rise and Fall of the British Empire; The Scale of the British Empire; The Basis of Empire: (1) Military; The Basis of Empire: (2) Economic; The Loss of Empire; The Reasons for Imperial Decline; Reasons for Decline: (1) The Loss of Manufacturing Dominance; Reasons for Decline: (2) The Separation of Industry and Finance; Reasons for Decline: (3) Liberal Militarism; Reasons for Decline: (4) The Consolidation of an Imperial Mind-Set; The Retreat from Empire
Lessons for AmericaCHAPTER 6: Russian Empires Old and New; The Rise and Fall of Two Imperial Russias; Explaining the Rise and Fall of the Tsarist Empire; The Rise and Fall of the Second Russian Empire; The Military Burdens of Empire; Problems of Economic Backwardness; Pushback and the Crisis of Legitimacy; Reflections on a Doomed Empire; CHAPTER 7: The Lessons of Empire; The Limits of Hard Power; Difficulties of Governance; Problems of the State; Erosion of Economic Strength; Social Tensions and Cultural Trajectory; Overall; PART III: The Reckoning; CHAPTER 8: A New Rome on the Potomac?
The Weight of Military SpendingCorrosive Effects; Pushback; The Preoccupied State; Finance as Empire; Manufacturing Offshore; Imperial Hubris; The Cultural Consequences of Empire; CHAPTER 9: Toward a Better America; Getting Out of the Empire Business; Rebalancing the Economy; The Pursuit of a More Equal America; The Task Ahead; Notes; Subject Index; Name Index
Includes indexes.
The focus of the book is the cost of empire, particularly the cost in the American case - the internal burden of American global leadership. The book builds an argument about the propensity of external responsibilities to undermine the internal strength, raising the question of the link between weakening and the global spread of American power.
Comparative politics.
Europe-Politics and government.
International relations.
United States-History.
World politics.
Law.
Comparative Politics.
European Politics.
International Relations.
US History.
Political History.
Law, general.