From Wealth to Power: The Unusual Origins of America's World Role

237 Pages·1999·2.8 MB·English

by  Fareed Zakaria

FROM WEALTH TO POWER
PRINCETON STUDIES IN
INTERNATIONAL HISTORY AND
POLITICS
Series Editors
Jack L. Snyder, Marc Trachtenberg, and Fareed Zakaria
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FAREED ZAKARIA
From Wealth to Power
The Unusual Origins of America's World Role
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Copyright © 1998 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William
Street,
Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
Chichester, West Sussex
All Rights Reserved Fourth printing, and first paperback printing, 1999
Paperback ISBN 0-691-01035-8
The Library of Congress has cataloged the cloth edition
of this book as follows
Zakaria, Fareed.
From wealth to power : the unusual origins of
America's world role /
Fareed Zakaria.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN: 978-1-40082918-7
1. United States —Foreign relations —1865-1921. 2. International relations. I.
Title.
E661.7.Z35 1998
327.73-dc21 97-34245
This book has been composed in Sabon The paper used in this publication meets
the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R1997) (Permanence
of Paper) http://pup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8
To my parents
RAFIQ AND FATMA ZAKARIA
Contents
Preface
Chapter One
Introduction: What Makes a Great Power?
Chapter Two
A Theory of Foreign Policy: Why Do States Expand?
Chapter Three
Imperial Understretch: Power and Nonexpansion, 1865-1889
Chapter Four
The Rise of the American State, 1877-1896: The Foundation for a New Foreign
Policy
Chapter Five
The New Diplomacy, 1889-1908: The Emergence of a Great Power
Chapter Six
Conclusion: Strong Nation, Weak State
Preface
THIS BOOK is a product of interest and frustration; interest in history and
political science, and frustration with the study of international relations.
International relations is studied nowadays with a serious involvement in either
history or social science theory, but rarely both. (This is partly a reflection of the
ever-increasing professionalization of disciplines in the academy.) I have tried to
make a small contribution to what I think is a necessary joint enterprise,
examining the historical record for insights and evidence that shed light on broad
theoretical topics in world politics, such as the rise of new great powers.
I was fortunate to have been in two ideal environments for scholarship, first as
an undergraduate and then as a Ph.D. student. My interest in history was
nurtured at Yale's dazzling history department, where Paul Kennedy, Robin
Winks, and Vasily Rudich were particularly generous with their time and
attention. At Harvard I learned to think like a social scientist. The Department of
Government at Harvard was an extraordinary place, crammed with wide-ranging
intelligence, erudition, and, above all, argument. For their advice,
encouragement, and friendship I am deeply grateful to Samuel P. Huntington,
Stanley Hoffmann, Robert Keohane, Joseph Nye, and the late Judith Shklar. I
was awarded fellowships by the Center for Science and International Affairs, the
Center for International Affairs, and the Olin Institute for Strategic Studies,
which were indispensible to completing this project. At Foreign Affairs, James
Hoge has generously allowed me the time and flexibility to write, which made it
possible to turn a dissertation into a book. Princeton University Press has been
enthusiastic and helpful from the start, for which I owe thanks to its director,
Walter Lippincott; Malcolm Debevoise; and Malcolm Litchfield. Ronald Krebs
helped greatly with the final revisions. Ib Ohlsson drew an elegant map to help
me make my point.
Over the years, many friends have listened to parts of this project as it
progressed from an outline to a book. I want to thank them all, but especially
those who read some part of it: Gideon Rose, Andrew Mor-avscik, Sean Lynn-
Jones, Robert Lieberman, Timothy Naftali, Thomas Christensen, and Nicholas
Rizopoulos. The final product has lost many of its early scars because of their
constructive criticism.
Finally, some personal thanks. As I was growing up in India, my interest in the
world was kindled by two extraordinary people: Khush-want Singh, who taught
me how to write, and the late Girilal Jain, who taught me how to think. Gideon,
Dan, and Joanna Rose and Sheri Berman have been a wondrous combination of
friends and family. My brother, Arshad, has been a pillar of support since we
both left home for college fourteen years ago. I did not know my wife, Paula,
when most of this book was written. Had I, she would have lifted my spirits then
as she does each day now. Finally and most importantly, thanks to my parents,
Fatma and Rafiq Zakaria, to whom this book is dedicated and who gave me
more than I can ever explain, let alone repay.