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book: Why Wilson Matters
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Why Wilson Matters

The Origin of American Liberal Internationalism and Its Crisis Today
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Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2017

About this book

How Woodrow Wilson's vision of making the world safe for democracy has been betrayed—and how America can fulfill it again

The liberal internationalist tradition is credited with America's greatest triumphs as a world power—and also its biggest failures. Beginning in the 1940s, imbued with the spirit of Woodrow Wilson’s efforts at the League of Nations to "make the world safe for democracy," the United States steered a course in world affairs that would eventually win the Cold War. Yet in the 1990s, Wilsonianism turned imperialist, contributing directly to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the continued failures of American foreign policy.

Why Wilson Matters explains how the liberal internationalist community can regain a sense of identity and purpose following the betrayal of Wilson’s vision by the brash “neo-Wilsonianism” being pursued today. Drawing on Wilson’s original writings and speeches, Tony Smith traces how his thinking about America’s role in the world evolved in the years leading up to and during his presidency, and how the Wilsonian tradition went on to influence American foreign policy in the decades that followed—for good and for ill. He traces the tradition’s evolution from its “classic” era with Wilson, to its “hegemonic” stage during the Cold War, to its “imperialist” phase today. Smith calls for an end to reckless forms of U.S. foreign intervention, and a return to the prudence and “eternal vigilance” of Wilson’s own time.

Why Wilson Matters renews hope that the United States might again become effectively liberal by returning to the sense of realism that Wilson espoused, one where the promotion of democracy around the world is balanced by the understanding that such efforts are not likely to come quickly and without costs.

Author / Editor information

Tony Smith is the Cornelia M. Jackson Professor of Political Science at Tufts University. His many books include America's Mission: The United States and the Worldwide Struggle for Democracy and The Crisis of American Foreign Policy: Wilsonianism in the Twenty-First Century (both Princeton).

Reviews

"Before he became president, Wilson was a prolific writer and a leading American scholar of democratic government, and Smith’s major contribution is his reconstruction of Wilson’s thinking from his books, papers, speeches, and letters. What emerges is a portrait not of a crusader or a utopian but of a realistic liberal who understood the deep and slow-forming foundations of modern democratic rule."---G. John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs --- "A significant and highly original contribution to the scholarship on Wilson and Wilsonianism. The book manages to offer new insights to our understanding of Wilson as well an original critique of contemporary U.S. foreign policy--a major accomplishment that deserves praise. Moreover, the book is well written, engaging, and persuasive. . . . [It] deserves a wide readership not only by scholars but by anyone concerned with the practice of U.S. foreign policy."---Rasmus Sinding Søndergaard, H-Diplo Roundtable Review --- "Even a review as generous in length as H-Diplo allows cannot do justice to Smith’s intellectual achievement in his reconsideration of Wilson. . . . The point is to evaluate the major actors, of whom this man stands paramount, for who they were and what they thought they were doing. As a scholar and our only professional academic to become president, Wilson would have wanted nothing less. Tony Smith’s book takes us a long way down the path to a true understanding of this man and these events."---John Milton Cooper, Jr., H-Diplo Roundtable Review --- "[Smith] wants to reclaim Wilson's historical memory to bolster the very idea of liberal internationalism, which he correctly considers under assault. For Smith, the problem is not that the United States stands for liberal values and seeks to promote democracy abroad; for too many, doing so has become synonymous with military force and overthrowing governments. The association of Wilson’s precepts with the recent wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya has caused many to question the wisdom of a vigorous American role in the world. The result, Smith argues, is that 'neo-Wilsonianism sabotaged the very tradition from which it had emerged.'"---Derek Chollet, The National Interest --- "A valiant effort to assert that Woodrow Wilson's view of how America should relate to the world has relevance today. . . . Smith performs a service to readers looking to place current domestic political developments in historical context." --- "A painstaking, take-no-prisoners attack on those who believe that America's historical experience can be duplicated everywhere. . . . This makes for powerful reading."---Robert Kaplan, Wall Street Journal

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    Frontmatter

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    Contents

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    Preface

    xi
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    INTRODUCTION. Know Thyself: What Is “Wilsonianism”?

    1
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  • PART I. THE ESSENTIAL WILSON: WILSON’S WILSONIANISM
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    CHAPTER ONE. Woodrow Wilson on Democracy Promotion in America

    31
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    CHAPTER TWO. Democracy Promotion through Progressive Imperialism

    65
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    CHAPTER THREE. Democracy Promotion through Multilateralism

    95
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    CHAPTER FOUR. Wilson’s Wilsonianism

    130
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  • PART II. WILSONIANISM AFTER WILSON
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    CHAPTER FIVE. Wilsonianism: The Construction of an American Vernacular

    147
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    CHAPTER SIX. The Rise of Neo- Wilsonian Theory

    182
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    CHAPTER SEVEN. From Theory to Practice: Neo- Wilsonianism in the White House, 2001–2017

    235
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    CONCLUSION. Reviving Liberal Internationalism

    276
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    Acknowledgments

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    Notes

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    Index

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    Backmatter

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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
November 21, 2016
eBook ISBN:
9781400883400
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400883400
eBook ISBN: 9781400883400
Keywords for this book
Woodrow Wilson; Democracy; Wilsonianism; Liberal internationalism; Imperialism; Foreign policy of the United States; Democracy promotion; Institution; League of Nations; Democratization; World Affairs; Soviet Union; Collective security; Liberal democracy; National security; Political science; Liberalism; Politics; Consent of the governed; Government; Containment; Constitution; Authoritarianism; World peace; Communism; Democracy in America; Democratic peace theory; Forms of government; Autocracy; Multilateralism; Treaty; Latin America; Self-determination; International law; Political system; American exceptionalism; President of the United States; Nation-building; Barack Obama; State-building; Responsibility to protect; Rule of law; George W. Bush; Militarism; Foreign policy; World War II; Mexican Revolution; International relations; Ideology; Deliberation; World War I; Writing; Political philosophy; Constitutionalism; Exceptionalism; Liberalism in the United States; Totalitarianism; Democratic Way; Great power; Community of Democracies; Anti-imperialism; Sovereignty; Neoliberalism; Westphalian sovereignty; Bush Doctrine; Grand strategy; World history; Leninism; Revolution; Patriotism
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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