American Adventurism Abroad: Invasions, Interventions, and Regime Changes Since World War II

Since the end of World War II, the United States has embarked on a succession of military and economic interventions, invasions and regime changes across the globe. Whether in the name of containing communism during the Cold War or fighting global terrorism post–9/11, the United States has a long history of rationalizing its interventions into developing countries. Yet as Michael Sullivan shows, a sober look at the facts reveals this adventurism abroad to have had a primary rationale that of establishing itself as the world s only superpower and the pre–eminent force of the global capitalist system irrespective of the tremendous political and social cost to the countries involved. From the mere loss of democracy to civil war and the consolidation of authoritarianism, 500 years of local politics have been interrupted as result of America s actions. Moreover, the US military s might and superior technology has led to a disproportionate destruction of life with more than seven million war–related deaths at the sites of US interventions.

In this revised paperback edition, American Adventurism Abroad traces US foreign policy from the late 1940s through the past six years of America s ′war on terror.′ Comprising 34 case studies of overseas US militaristic meddling throughout this period, drawn from eleven presidencies and five geographic regions, and complete with extensive bibliographies, this volume offers a detailed and compelling picture of American foreign policy and its position in the world today.

List of Tables.

List of Abbreviations.

Introduction to the Revised Edition.

Introduction.

Part I: The Early Years: Embracing a New Role, 1945 1960.

1. From World War II to the Cold War: The Truman Years, 1945 52.

Introduction to the European Region.

Case 1: Greece, 1947 9.

Case 2: Italy, 1948.

Case 3: Philippines, 1946 53.

Introduction to the East Asian Region.

Bibliography.

2. The Expanding Empire Under Eisenhower, 1953 60.

Introduction to the Middle East.

Case 4: Iran, 1953.

Introduction to the Western Hemisphere.

Case 5: Guatemala, 1954.

Case 6: Lebanon, 1958.

Introduction to the Southeast Asia Sub–Region: Indochina I.

Bibliography.

Part II: The Extremist Years, 1961 1976.

3. The Kennedy Johnson Idealist Extensions, 1961 8.

Introduction to the African Region.

Case 7: Congo, 1961 5.

Case 8: Cuba, 1961.

Case 9: British Guiana, 1961 6.

Indochina II.

Case 10: Laos, 1961 73.

Case 11: South Vietnam, 1961 5.

Case 12: Brazil, 1964.

Case 13: Dominican Republic, 1961 6.

Case 14: Indonesia, 1965 6.

Postscript: Greece, 1967 74.

Bibliography.

4. The Nixon Ford Realist Consolidations, 1969 76.

Case 15: Cambodia, 1970.

Case 16: Kurdistan, 1971 5.

Case 17: Chile, 1973.

Case 18: Angola, 1975.

Case 19: Australia, 1975.

Case 20: East Timor, 1975.

Bibliography.

Part III: The Four–Year Aberration, 1977 1980.

5. Jimmy Carter s Human Rights Pause, 1977 80.

Bibliography.

Part IV: Transition to the Post–Cold War Era, 1981 2001.

6. Ronald Reagan: The Last Cold Warrior, 1981 8.

Case 21: El Salvador, 1979 91.

Case 22: Nicaragua, 1981 8.

Case 23: Grenada, 1983.

Case 24: Libya, 1981 6.

Case 25: Afghanistan, 1981 8.

Bibliography.

7. The Post–Cold War Era: Bush, Clinton, and the Search for New Themes, 1989 2000.

Case 26: Panama, 1989.

Case 27: Iraq, 1991.

Case 28: Somalia, 1992 94.

Case 29: Haiti, 1994.

Case 30: Yugoslavia, 1995 and 1999.

Bibliography.

Part V: The Attacks of 9–11 and the Start of a New Era.

8. George W. Bush and the War on Terror .

Case 31: Afghanistan, 2001ff.

Case 32: Iraq, 2003ff.

Case 33: Venezuela, 2002.

Case 34: Haiti, 2004.

Bibliography.

Conclusion.

Index.

.

Michael J. Sullivan III is Professor of History and Politics at Drexel University. He has authored numerous articles on arms control and nuclear non–proliferation and has been awarded fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and the Pew Foundation. He is the author of Measuring Global Values: The Ranking of 162 Countries (1991) and Comparing State Polities: A Framework for Analyzing 100 Governments (1996).

"This is a superb tool for the advanced undergraduate or graduate student to combine multiple disciplines to the study of US foreign policy. This ought to become one of the most referenced theoretical approaches to US foreign policy."
Sanford R. Silverburg, Catawba College <!––end––>

"American Adventurism Abroad is a well–written, comprehensive, but concise text on U.S. interventions throughout the world. The breadth and diversity of the author s case analyses are impressive and valuable, as he covers both well known interventions and lesser known, even obscure, cases beginning in the immediate post–war period. Sullivan′s individualized bibliographies, which he organizes by case or geographic area, will be extremely useful for both students and professors alike."
Timothy C. Lim, California State University, Los Angeles