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A Sense of Power: The Roots of America's Global Role

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A Sense of Power: The Roots of America's Global RoleWhy has the United States assumed so extensive and costly a role in world affairs over the last hundred years? The two most common answers to this question are because it could and because it had to. Neither answer will do, according to this challenging re assessment of the way that America came to assume its global role. The country's vast economic resources gave it the capacity to exercise great influence abroad, but Americans were long reluctant to

Why has the United States assumed so extensive and costly a role in world affairs over the last hundred years? The two most common answers to this question are because it could and because it had to. Neither answer will do, according to this challenging re-assessment of the way that America came to assume its global role. The country's vast economic resources gave it the capacity to exercise great influence abroad, but Americans were long reluctant to meet the costs of wielding that power. Neither the country's safety from foreign attack nor its economic well-being required the achievement of ambitious foreign policy objectives.In A Sense of Power, John A. Thompson takes a long view of America's dramatic rise as a world power, from the late nineteenth century into the post-World War II era. How, and more importantly why, has America come to play such a dominant role in world affairs? There is, he argues, no simple answer. Thompson challenges conventional explanations of America's involvement in World War I and World War II, seeing neither the requirements of national security nor economic interests as determining. He shows how American leaders from Wilson to Truman developed an ever more capacious understanding of the national interest, and why by the 1940s most Americans came to support the price tag, in blood and treasure, attached to strenuous efforts to shape the world. The beliefs and emotions that led them to do so reflected distinctive aspects of U.S. culture, not least the strength of ties to Europe. Consciousness of the nation's unique power fostered feelings of responsibility, entitlement, and aspiration among the people and leaders of the United States.This original analysis challenges some widely held beliefs about the determinants of United States foreign policy and will bring new insight to contemporary debates about whether the nation should--or must--play so active a part in world politics.

--Ira Katznelson, Ruggles Professor of Political Science and History, Columbia University, author of Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time "International Studies Review"

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Published: 12/04/2015
ISBN: 9780801447891
Pages: 360
Weight: 1.40lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.10d

Review Citations: Choice 07/01/2016
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SKU: 71073777742

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Doogie Howser
Battle Creek, US
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Fairly stable. Good value for the price
Size: 16 Inch, Size: 16 Inch
Great set of stands. You have to tighten them pretty snugly to minimize wobble. Given they are metal they’ll have a little bit more give than solid wood. Even so, a tall desk I built with them remains stable and level.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2025
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abur
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I love it!!!
Size: M Desk Unfinished 3/4-in and 1/2-in
Easy to assemble, all the pieces were in the box. I set everything out to be sure. Instructions were easy and clear, took about 10 min to put together. Seems to be quality pipe, strong stable build even at just hand tight. When I put the desk top on it was already level so bonus there. This kit is a great value, before I found the M desk I was looking on Pinterest for pipe leg designs thinking a trip to the hardware store and I could make it for cheaper, which was not the case. I 100% will recommend, and will purchase again.
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Nancy
Waukegan, US
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Real steel pipe
Size: O Desk Unfinished 3/4-in and 1/2-in
This pipe table leg set was great. It's real steel pipe like from the hardware store. It does have a layer of oil on it so that must be stripped using dawn or some other degreaser before handleing and painting. It is also offset in the middle bar so if you use it as a desk you get more leg clearance. I used it as a table base so I bought matching middle braces to set the middle support in the center of the table. Once together it looks great. I highly recommend getting this if you want a good quality pipe base.
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Kim R-A
New York, US
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Price / Quality - Office Desk - Perfect
Size: H Desk Unfinished 3/4-in and 1/2-in
Purchased two sets to create a custom L shaped desk for the office. Placed a pine stained top. Perfect to handle a monitor, multiple laptops, normal office equipment. Extra benefit is the cross piece at the bottom as a foot rest. Very sturdy while sitting on carpet. Compared to normal pipe material purchased in large box store -- could not have asked for a better product for the price. Looking at other products for additional projects for around the house for the product and vendor. - Highly Recommend.
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Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2021

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