American Foreign and National Security Policies, 1914-1945

• Author(s): Buckley, Thomas H., and Edwin B. Strong, Jr.
• Series:
• Imprint: Univ Tennessee Press
• Publication Date: 1988-02-05
• Status: Active
• Available in Paper: Price $19.95 | Buy Now

Today the struggle between two tendencies – traditional isolationist and moral expansionist – remains a central focus in national life. General introductions to United States’ diplomatic history in this era seldom mention the connections between American foreign relations and American military strategy and politics. Yet many of the foundations of our “national security state” were constructed in the 1914-1945 period. This provocative survey, one of the first attempts at such integration, outlines key developments in the areas of American foreign relations and military strategy during these years.

Written from a realist perspective, this spirited, readable text offers both undergraduate and general readers an overview of recent historical interpretations. By focusing on the questions of how to reconcile power and politics, so crucial to contemporary foreign policy and national security debates, the authors bring to life the 1914-1945 era and America’s search for security.

“its up-to-date scholarship, vivid writing style, and broad coverage of strategic and diplomatic issues make this book an ideal introduction to the emergence of the United States as a world power between 1913 and 1945. It is a first-rate work.”–J. Garry Clifford, University of Connecticut, author of The Citizen Soldiers and The First Peacetime Draft

Thomas H. Buckley is Jay P. Walker Professor of American history at the University of Tulsa.

Edwin B. Strong, Jr., is associate professor of political science at the University of Tulsa.