This book is a critical exploration of the intellectual foundations of American foreign policy on the left and the right. The left is inspired by Immanuel Kant’s idea that spreading democracy is the key to universal peace. The right is inspired by the realism of Thucydides, Leo Strauss, and Carl Schmitt. The emphasis is on military power as a sign of superiority and a means to survival. For the right, spreading democracy is merely a ploy for building a global commercial empire to rival the British. Drury gives reasons for rejecting both as manifestations of the chauvinism of the West.
