Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy since the Cold War

by Tom Lansford

Overview

The post-Cold War diplomacy of the United States evolved in stages that reflected changes in the international system. Through the 1990s, the nation's foreign affairs were marked by an evolution away from the post-World War II focus on security and superpower competition to a more multifaceted and nuanced series of policies that included economic concerns, social and cultural issues, and environmental matters. However, an escalating series of terrorist attacks that culminated in the 11 September 2001 strikes on New York and Washington, D.C. led to the reemergence of security as the main foreign policy issue for the United States. The subsequent American-led "war on terror" mirrored the Cold War in its goals, and the administration of President George W. Bush endeavored to build a multinational counterterrorism coalition that paralleled the Western alliance of the bipolar era.

The Historical Dictionary of U.S. Diplomacy Since the Cold War is a concise overview of the main figures, conflicts, events, and policies of the United States in the post-Cold War era. The study explores the main elements of U.S. foreign policy and the regional and international reaction to American policies from the presidency of George H. W. Bush to that of George W. Bush. Through its entries, the book analyzes the underlying themes of U.S. diplomacy and the new policies formulated and implemented in response to broad changes in global politics. The book includes a chronology of events from 1991 to 2007, an introduction that highlights important themes of the era, cross-referenced entries on significant topics, a detailed bibliography, and appendixes of major documents. The work is ideal for both public and academic libraries, the general public, or the specialist looking for a reference tool in this area.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810856356
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	09/10/2007
Series:	Historical Dictionaries of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations , #6
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	392
Product dimensions:	5.84(w) x 8.91(h) x 1.23(d)

About the Author

Tom Lansford is the Assistant Dean for the College of Arts and Letters and an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Editor's Foreword
Part 2 Acronyms and Abbreviations
Part 3 Chronology
Part 4 Introduction
Part 5 THE DICTIONARY
Part 6 Appenidxes
Chapter 7 A Presidents and Terms of Office, 1989-2007
Chapter 8 B Secretaries fo State, 1989-2007
Chapter 9 C Major Speeches and Documents
Part 10 Bibliography
Part 11 About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Lansford (political science, University of Southern Mississippi-Hattiesburg) overviews the main figures, conflicts, events, and polices of the US in the post-Cold War era. He explores the main elements of US foreign policy and the regional and international reaction to American policies from the presidency of George H. W. Bush to that of George W. Bush. Alphabetical entries, most about one page long, analyze the underlying themes of US diplomacy and the new policies formed and implemented in response to broad changes in global politics. The reference also includes a chronology of events from 1991 to 2007, an introduction highlighting important themes of the era, cross-references, and appendixes of major documents. The extensive bibliography of print resources (27 pages) is divided into 26 topics.

Reference and Research Book News

The work's overall quality is good and it is recommended.

American Reference Books Annual

The work's overall quality is good and it is recommended.

American Reference Books Annual (ARBA)

The latest in Scarecrow's "Historical Dictionaries of U.S. Diplomacy" series presents multiparagraph descriptions of the people, policies, conflicts, and events pertinent to a watershed in American politics: the period between 1991, the effective end of the Cold War, and the year 2007, a time of political fragmentation. In his thought-provoking introduction, Lansford (Strategic Preemption) notes the political confusion that followed the fall of our longtime adversary, communism, which had served as a unifying and motivating force since the 1940s. A lengthy chronology of significant post-1991 events opens the book, and a detailed 30-page bibliography concludes it. Recommended for American and diplomatic history collections.

—Staff

Library Journal