Failed states
Subtitle: the abuse of power and the assault on democracy
By: Noam Chomsky.
Edition: 1st ed.
Series: The American empire project
Publisher: Metropolitan Books/Henry Holt
Published: 2006
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 311
ISBN-13: 9780805079128
Subjects: Unilateral acts (International law); Politics/International Relations; Iraq War, 2003; Political Science; Politics / Current Events; United States - 21st Century; Security, International; Government - U.S. Government; History & Theory - General; Political Science / General; International Relations - General
First sentence: Half a century ago, in July 1955, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein issued an extraordinary appeal to the people of the world, asking them "to set aside" the strong feelings they have about many issues and to consider themselves "only as members of a biological species which has had a remarkable history, and whose disappearance none of us can desire."
Description: The United States has repeatedly asserted its right to intervene militarily against "failed states" around the globe. Chomsky turns the tables, charging the United States with being a "failed state," and therefore a danger to its own people and the world. "Failed states," Chomsky writes, are those "that do not protect their citizens from violence and perhaps even destruction, that regard themselves as beyond the reach of domestic or international law, and that suffer from a 'democratic deficit, ' having democratic forms but with limited substance." Exploring recent U.S. foreign and domestic policies, Chomsky assesses Washington's escalation of nuclear risks; the dangerous consequences of the occupation of Iraq; and Americas's self-exemption from international law. He also examines an American electoral system that frustrates genuine political alternatives, thus impeding any meaningful democracy.--From publisher description
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [265]-300) and index.
Table of contents: title: Stark, dreadful, inescapable; title: Outlaw states; title: Illegal but legitimate; title: Democracy promotion abroad; title: Supporting evidence: the Middle East; title: Democracy promotion at home.