American Power and the Prospects for International Order

Simon Bromley is Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Studies at the Open University.

"A well-researched, multifaceted and insightful analysis of the sources and challenges to US supremacy. Particularly impressive is the way in which Bromley is able to explain complex economic theory in relatively easily understood terms, and at times to bridge the gap between economic and security based analyses of US power and international order in general." Australian Journal of Political Science "Walt Rostow's theory of modernization, in Bromley's view, supplemented the requirement of containing Soviet military power with the need to 'create forms of coordinated economic interdependence, based on the replication of the American model of capitalism in the rest of the capitalist world, from which many states could derive positive benefit'. Bromley elucidates this argument in an excellent first chapter and goes on to demonstrate how the neo-conservative foreign policy agenda both builds on this foundation and departs from it."Political Studies Quarterly"This is a good book and should be recommended in particular to those who think they already know everything about American foreign relations."Times Higher Education"Simon Bromley is one of the most knowledgeable, astute and sober analysts of the role of oil in the making of the American empire. This new book confirms this amidst a broader examination of the American strategy and ideology from the post-war era up to today."Leo Panitch, York University, Toronto"Simon Bromley has written an exceptional book, remarkable for its many insights, and the lucidity and balance of its judgements on the role the United States plays in the world and the complex nature of its power. Avoiding the oversimplifications and caricatures which bedevil this field, Bromley offers a compelling account of the enduring dilemmas which have shaped American policy towards the international order and the current challenges it faces. This book should be read by everyone interested in understanding contemporary world politics."Andrew Gamble, University of Cambridge "Simon Bromley has crafted an excellent and thought-provoking study of American power. He presents a robust defence of an American-led liberal international order that will need to be taken into account by all other writers on the subject. His argument that the US is a revolutionary power seeking to mould the world into its own image because of its declining economic power is a challenging one. Summing up and defending a liberal thesis, Bromley does something unusual (at least for a European scholar): he defends American power. Bromley's study should be widely read by political scientists, political economists, political historians, and international relations scholars and students."Inderjeet Parmar, University of Manchester

• List of Tables and Figures viiPreface viiiIntroduction: The American Project for a Liberal International Order 11 The American Ideology: Modernization Theory and the Neo-Conservatives 8Introduction 8What Was Modernization Theory? 10Containment and ‘Development’ 14Modernization Theory and World Order 20Modernity Is Not the ‘End of History’ 31Modernization Theory, the Neo-Conservatives and the Bush Doctrine 37Conclusions 502 America's Transatlantic Empire: Where in the World Is America? 52Introduction 52The American Empire 54Imperialism 61Anarchy, Rivalry and Interdependence 66US Power and the Liberal Capitalist International Order 82Conclusions 973 American Oil, World Oil: Resources, Confl icts, Control and Scarcity 101Introduction 101Reasons for War? 103America's Oil, World Oil 106OPEC and World Oil 115The United States and Middle East Oil 118Reshaping the Greater Middle East 122The Role of Oil in the New Middle East Strategy 135Carry on Driving? 143Conclusions 1484 American Power, the Future of the Dollar and the Challenge of China 149Introduction 149International Money 151From Fixed to Floating Exchange Rates 160Resurgent Asia 173Containing China? 185Conclusions 199Conclusion: The Prospects for a Liberal International Order 202Notes 211Bibliography 226Name Index 237Subject Index 240