Superpower illusions
Subtitle: how myths and false ideologies led America astray-- and how to return to reality
By: Jack F. Matlock, Jr
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: New Haven
Language: eng
Number of pages: 344
ISBN-13: 9780300137613
Description: "Former U.S. ambassador to the USSR Jack F. Matlock refutes the idea that the United States forced the collapse of the Soviet Union--with wide-ranging implications for U.S. foreign policy. Matlock argues that Gorbachev, not Reagan, undermined Communist Party rule in the Soviet Union, and that the Cold War ended in a negotiated settlement that benefited both sides. He posits that the end of the Cold War diminished American power; with the removal of the Soviet threat, allies were less willing to accept American protection and leadership that seemed increasingly to ignore their interests. Matlock shows how, during the Clinton and particularly the Bush-Cheney administrations, the belief that the United States had defeated the Soviet Union led to a conviction that it did not need allies, international organizations, or diplomacy, but could dominate the world by using its military power unilaterally. The result has compromised America's ability to lead."--Publisher's description.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Myths and realities; title: Framework diplomacy : Reagan's approach to Gorbachev; title: Cleanup diplomacy and conclusions we can draw; title: Regime change : the Soviet Union disintegrates; title: A new world? (1992); title: The unipolar delusion (the 1990s); title: Hubris and its consequences (1993-2000); title: Asleep at the switch : 9/11 and the "War on Terror"; title: Tar baby Iraq; title: Ideology trumps reality (2001-2009); title: Course change; title: An agenda, not a doctrine.