The US "Culture Wars" and the Anglo-American Special Relationship

by David G. Haglund

Overview

This book discusses “culture” and the origins of the Anglo-American special relationship (the AASR). The bitter dispute between ethnic groups in the US from 1914–17—a period of time characterized as the “culture wars”—laid the groundwork both for US intervention in the European balance of power in 1917 and for the creation of what would eventually become a lasting Anglo-American alliance. Specifically, the vigorous assault on English “civilization” launched by two large ethnic groups in America (the Irish-Americans and the German-Americans) had the unintended effect of causing America’s demographic majority at the time (the English-descended Americans) to regard the prospect of an Anglo-American alliance in an entirely new manner. The author contemplates why the Anglo-American “great rapprochement” of 1898 failed to generate the desired “Anglo-Saxon” alliance in Britain, and in so doing features theoretically informed inquiries into debates surrounding both the origins of the war in 1914 and the origins of the American intervention decision nearly three years later.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030185480
Publisher:	Springer International Publishing
Publication date:	05/22/2019
Edition description:	1st ed. 2019
Pages:	254
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 8.27(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

David G. Haglund is Professor of Political Studies at Queen's University, Canada. His research focuses on transatlantic security and Canadian and American international security policy.

Table of Contents

1. Identity, Culture Wars, and the Origins of the Anglo-American Special Relationship: A Huntingtonian Prelude.- 2. The Puzzle of the Missing Anglo-American Alliance: 1914 and All That.- 3. April 1917 Revisited: The Debate over the War’s Spread to America.- 4. America’s Missing Diaspora: The “Hawthornian Majority” and Anglo-American Relations.- 5. The German- and Irish-American Challengers to Hawthornian Identity.- 6. Getting Their English Up: The Culture Wars and the Ending of American Neutrality, 1914-17.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Culture wars are nothing new to our times. In this impressive book, David Haglund shows us both the impact of the culture wars of a century ago and the ways that we need to explore the cultural roots of war.” (Michael S. Neiberg, author of Dance of the Furies: Europe and the Outbreak of World War I)

“David Haglund has written an insightful book on a topic of great historical significance. Fusing IR theory, work on ethnic politics, and historical analysis in an innovative fashion, he offers a novel interpretation of America’s entry into the First World War. This volume should be of interest to IR scholars and historians alike.” (Duncan Bell, Political Thought and International Relations, University of Cambridge, UK)

“Fora century, the explanation of the timing of the United States’ entrance into the Great War has been ‘hiding in plain sight.’ With assiduous research and insightful reflection, David Haglund has at last given us the answer.” (David Clinton, Political Science, Baylor University, USA)