After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy and over 360,000 other books are available for Amazon Kindle – Amazon’s new wireless reading device. Learn more

 

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
16 used & new from $17.73

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy (Stanford Economics & Finance)
 
 
Start reading After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy (Stanford Economics & Finance) (Paperback)

~ Christopher Coyne (Author)
Key Phrases: polity score, occupiers exit, broader reconstruction effort, United States, West Germany, Exporting Conflict (more...)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)

List Price: $24.95
Price: $19.46 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $5.49 (22%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Monday, November 23? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
15 used from $17.73

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Kindle Edition, November 7, 2007 $14.97 -- --
  Hardcover, November 6, 2007 $65.00 $65.00 $67.94
  Paperback, November 6, 2007 $19.46 $19.46 $17.73

Frequently Bought Together

Customers buy this book with The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates by Peter T. Leeson

After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy (Stanford Economics & Finance) + The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates
  • This item: After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy (Stanford Economics & Finance) by Christopher J. Coyne

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates by Peter T. Leeson

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies (New Edition)

The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies (New Edition)

by Bryan Douglas Caplan
3.7 out of 5 stars (47)  $12.50
Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places

Wars, Guns, and Votes: Democracy in Dangerous Places

by Paul Collier
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  $17.81
The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates

The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates

by Peter T. Leeson
4.4 out of 5 stars (17)  $16.47
When States Fail: Causes and Consequences

When States Fail: Causes and Consequences

by Robert I. Rotberg
5.0 out of 5 stars (1)  $23.76
The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity

The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity

by Russell D. Roberts
4.3 out of 5 stars (26)  $11.53
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Review

"After War adds a unique perspective on the United States's ability to impose liberal democratic institutions abroad. In clear prose, Christopher Coyne combines the economic way of thinking with an appreciation of politics, history, culture, and social factors to expose why past efforts to export liberal democracy have failed and why we should be skeptical of future efforts." -- Emily Chamlee-Wright, Beloit College

"A brilliant and timely contribution that should shift the debate on U.S. foreign policy and state-building. In providing new insights from economic theory on what can be expected in post-conflict situations, Coyne guides us toward attainable goals and interventions that have a better chance of success." -- Jack Goldstone, George Mason University --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.


Review

"Prof Coyne is obviously a dove rather than a hawk. But he accepts the case for occasional intervention for humanitarian reasons or to protect US citizens. His main suggestions are to avoid nation-building types of intervention and adopt free trade, if necessary unilaterally by the US. It is perhaps déformation professionelle for economists to overrate the spillover benefits of the latter. But peace and welfare may depend on how far the next US president accepts the main lines of his analysis – a subject even more important than the current credit crunch." -The Financial Times


"Having recently had an opportunity to read After War,... I've found myself trying out his application of economic principles to the analysis of armed conflicts, particularly in the case of America's current occupation of Iraq. This has proven especially useful."—The Economist: Free Exchange


"I view the key analytical point as focusing on the power of on-the-ground expectations to make the reconstruction 'game' either a cooperative or combative one. This is a difficult variable to control, but Chris offers a very good look at the best and worst attempts that the United States has made to manipulate these variables and thus export democracy. If you want to know why the Solow model doesn't seem to hold for Bosnia, or a deeper more analytic sense of why Iraq has been a mess, this is the place to go."—Marginal Revolution

Product Details

  • Paperback: 248 pages
  • Publisher: Stanford Economics and Finance (November 7, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0804754403
  • ISBN-13: 978-0804754408
  • Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #527,008 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Christopher J. Coyne Page


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?


Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

 

Customer Reviews

6 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (6 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The best explanation of how foreign policy works, January 16, 2008
In "After War," Christopher J. Coyne offers the best explanation of any current writer about how foreign policy works -- and how it doesn't work. Professor Coyne argues that the logic of economics -- critically, that people respond to incentives -- does not cease to apply in the international context, as much as we might try to wish it away. The building of a liberal democratic international order is not a matter of forcing people to bend to a great power's will, but of helping mold incentives in a way that enables endogenous creation in totalitarian, illiberal, and failed states of the institutions and habits of a liberal democratic order.

This is no simple matter of theory or conjecture. Pulling together quantitative and qualitative data from a variety of sources, Coyne examines empirically the US's successes in nation-building over the last century and explains these miserable results in a logical and thoughtful fashion. Coyne also effectively demolishes the argument that post-World War II rebuilding of Japan and Germany is a blueprint for other conflicts.

Too many writers and commentators focus on the problem without identifying a solution; Coyne avoids this trap magnificently. The book concludes with a chapter that explains clearly even to non-economists the power of trade and non-interventionism to help build a freer, more prosperous world.

While a breakthrough work interdisciplinary in social science, "After War" is highly accessible even to non-specialists and laymen. Anyone interested in a serious, thoughtful exploration of what's wrong with America's current foreign policy -- and how to make it right -- should read this book.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant--A Must Read, November 26, 2007
In my opinion, After War is simply the best book on democratic nation building out there. Coyne's economic approach clarifies the essential elements behind a complex and often confusing area of foreign policy. His penetrating analysis provides a much-needed, coherent framework for understanding US military intervention and its consequences.

With rare clarity, After War reveals why American attempts to export democracy have occasionally worked but more often have failed. A must read for anyone who wants to think seriously about US foreign policy in the Middle East or anywhere else. This book is a 10.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent and accessible look at US foreign policy, November 25, 2007
By Steven G. Horwitz (Canton, NY, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Chris Coyne's new book is very clearly written and very accessible to the non-specialist, not to mention that it offers an excellent political economy analysis of post-war reconstruction. Coyne uses tools from across economics and political science to argue why attempts at such reconstruction are normally likely to fail. He makes particularly good use of ideas from Austrian economics (Hayekian knowledge problems and the Misesian dynamic of interventionism), public choice theory, game theory, and the new institutional economics.

His last chapter provides an alternative vision of US foreign policy, where free trade in goods, services, and ideas (unilaterally if necessary) is the path to economic growth and democratization, rather than military intervention, occupation, and/or reconstruction. As Coyne puts it, we need to model our commitment to liberal goals by using liberal means to get there. If we really do value societies of free trade and peace, how credible is that commitment if we continually try to enforce it at the point of a gun? Such attempts are both empirically bound to fail and ethically problematic.

Coyne's last chapter points to a new vision of US foreign policy and should stimulate further work by other scholars in the classical liberal tradition.

A highly readable look at an urgent topic of current concern.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great International Approach
I first heard about this book on "Free Markets With Dr. Mike Beitler," a libertarian internet-radio show. I found the discussion very interesting. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Paul Bauer

5.0 out of 5 stars Washington Are You Listening?
I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Coyne on my internet radio show, "Free Markets With Dr. Mike Beitler." In this book, Dr. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Michael A. Beitler

5.0 out of 5 stars The Crucible of Constraints
If one is seeking an answer to the nagging question of why the U.S. led missions to export democracy were successful in West Germany and Japan, yet were anything but, in Somalia,... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Brian Pitt

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   


Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)



 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.