The United States, which began as a union of 13 small states east of the Mississippi River, pushed to the Pacific and ultimately took control of extensive overseas territories, provides a clear example. From Wealth to Power began as Zakaria's dissertation, and its origins still show, especially in the repetitious commentary on its theoretical underpinnings. Without these trappings, an already short book could have been even shorter with little loss of substance. Still, the author, managing editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, writes well, and readers will have no difficulty understanding his argument. Zakaria regards his study as a contest between two theories of international relations.
Rich nations expand only when threatened by potentially powerful aggressors.
From 1865 to 1889, Zakaria argues, the U.S. central government had little strength. In those circumstances the United States declined to act on numerous opportunities for foreign expansion. Of 22 cases considered by Zakaria, only six resulted in expansion, the most important of those being the acquisition of Alaska in 1867 and the beginning of the construction of a blue-water navy in the 1880s. In other words, our relatively weak government was a hindrance to those who wanted to spread American power globally. Although Zakaria's argument is interesting and suggestive, it is less than compelling.