"Empire" by Integration: The United States and European Integration, 1945-1997 [Paperback]

Geir Lundestad (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998 | ISBN-10: 019878211X | ISBN-13: 978-0198782117

"Empire" by Integration is the first comprehensive survey of American policy towards European integration from 1945 to the present. Lundestad argues that, unlike other Great Powers, the US strongly supported the integration of the most important area under its influence: Western Europe. Taking a clear, chronological approach to the subject, this study tells its tale in full--from the beginnings of European integration after World War II, the challenge to American policy on European integration by Charles de Gaulle, and the modified support for European integration in the Nixon-Kissinger years up through the present-day revived support for European integration under the Clinton administration. Lundestad thus provides a succinct, provocative, and highly readable account of this crucial aspect of American-Western European relations.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A concise survey, intelligently executed."--Foreign Affairs

About the Author

Geir Lundestad is Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute and Professor of International History at the University of Oslo. His numerous publications include The American "Empire" and other Studies of US Foreign Policy in Comparative Perspective (1990), The Fall of Great Powers, Peace, Stability, and Legitimacy (1994), and East, West, North, South: Major Developments in International Politics 1945-1996 (1997).
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Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 019878211X
• ISBN-13: 978-0198782117
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #569,110 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Ambivalence, November 26, 2003

By 

Mathew Wilder (St. Cloud, MN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Empire" by Integration: The United States and European Integration, 1945-1997 (Paperback)

I read this book for my senior seminar class while studying abroad in Rome. Right now I am of mixed feelings about it. Often I found it to be very dry, and uninspiring. There were times when the book seemed to be just a collection of quotes, followed by strings of names and dates. The author also repeated himself frequently.

However, the book raises important points about the history of American policy towards Europe since World War II. Particulary important in this time of heightened anti-American sentiment is the fact that after WWII the Europeans actually wanted the U.S. to remain in their countries militarily, as only the Americans were in a position to provide security against the Soviets and a possibly aggressive Germany.

I would only recommend this book for those seriously interested in foreign policy. It is not for those with a passing fancy in politics.