The global republic: America's inadvertent rise to world power

"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 Republic compellingly and provocatively counters some of the deepest and most common misconceptions about America's history and its place in the world."--Publisher's website.

Provincial prelude -- Global society and the challenge to exceptionalism -- Gaining entrée: the United States joins the club -- The Wilsonian anomaly; or, the three faces of Wilsonianism -- Restarting global society in the 1920s -- The war for international society: the coming of World War II -- Economics versus politics in the reinvention of international society -- Ideology and culture as ingredients of the Cold War -- Americanization, globalization, and the end of the Cold War -- Global aftermath -- Concluding thoughts -- Appendix: historians and exceptionalism.