Overview

For decades the United States has been the most dominant player on the world's stage. The country's economic authority, its globally forceful foreign policy, and its leading position in international institutions tend to be seen as the result of a long-standing, deliberate drive to become a major global force. Furthermore, it has become widely accepted that American exceptionalism-the belief that America is a country like no other in history-has been at the root of many of the country's political, military, and global moves. Frank Ninkovich disagrees. One of the preeminent intellectual historians of our time, Ninkovich delivers here his most ambitious and sweeping book to date. He argues that historically the United States has been driven not by a belief in its destiny or its special character but rather by a need to survive the forces of globalization. He builds the powerful case that American foreign policy has long been based on and entangled in questions of global engagement, while also showing that globalization itself has always been distinct from-and sometimes in direct conflict with-what we call international society. In the second half of the twentieth century, the United States unexpectedly stumbled into the role of global policeman and was forced to find ways to resolve international conflicts that did not entail nuclear warfare. The United States's decisions were based less in notions of exceptionalism and more in a need to preserve and expand a flourishing global society that had become essential to the American way of life. Sure to be controversial,The Global Republiccompellingly and provocatively counters some of the deepest and most common misconceptions about America's history and its place in the world.

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9780226164731

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Reviews

We often now speak of 'America in the World' and Ninkovich has firmly put the world in the nation's history. His provocative book challenges us to move beyond the categories of American exceptionalism that historians have too often leaned upon to see globalization, and the ability of the United States to ride and guide its waves, as a decisive force in the nation's status in the world. --David Ekbladh Tufts University

For decades, Ninkovich has pioneered profound and sweeping works on the history of American foreign relations, most notably on the complex interaction of culture, writ large, on diplomacy. This book is no exception. Ninkovich explores how America rose to power, buffeted by the winds of globalization that shaped its culture, society, and ideology. His conceptualization moves beyond new and old approaches by placing the United States not just in the world, but in a global society. The scholarship is sound, the grasp on theory breathtaking, and the method of weaving together external and internal transformative forces is original. This tour de force situates the author among the intellectual leaders of international relations history. --Thomas Zeiler, University of Colorado

Marvelous' is the word to characterize this book. It is a marvel of insight, reflection, and analysis, Displaying the erudition. depth, and wit that readers have long since come to expect from him. Ninkovich has produced a strikingly original account the United States' two centuries of experience in the world. He combines ascents to heights of philosophical discourse with consistent exercise in down-to-earth skepticism toward ideologies and intellectual constructs, including his own emphasis on globalism. No one who cares about America and the world can afford not to read this book. (John Milton Cooper, author of Woodrow Wilson: A Biography)

Author Information

Frank Ninkovich is professor emeritus of history at St. John's University, New York. He is the author of many books, including Modernity and Power and The Wilsonian Century, both also published by University of Chicago Press. His most recent book is Global Dawn: The Cultural Foundation of American Internationalism.

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