Introduction
The post-Cold War era in the American society can be deemed as an essential epoch in the U.S. history, as it allowed for retrieving the answers to some of the most complicated political, financial and economic questions; foreshadowing the tendency for the globalization and the following alterations in the American foreign policy, it allowed the U.S. government to get the state priorities straight. Although the specifics of the political and economic challenges, which the United States were facing at the time, had a very complex nature, Hook and Spanier managed to detail the major tendencies in the changes of political strategies of the state in a very precise and cohesive manner in the chapters 7–13 of their book American Foreign Policy Since World War II, yet their attempt at idealization of the American policies adopted at the time makes their argument somewhat one-sided.
Strengths
As far as the strengths of the author’s approach are concerned, the extensive amount of information, which they provide for the readers to learn and analyze, is beyond impressive. The outstanding manner, in which Hook and Spanier take account of every single bit of essential information, is worth appreciating. It is remarkable that the authors mention not only the key people, who have contributed to altering the course of the American history, but also provided a thorough overview of the interactions between the United States and rest of other countries, including the former Soviet Union, Vietnam, China, etc. For instance, the authors mention the significance of the relationships between the United States and the rest of the countries, as well as the importance of the political decisions, which the latter made. For
instance, the alterations, which the USSR was experiencing at the end of the 1980s, have been explored in their impact on the U.S. political and economic state quite extensively by the authors: “One important sign of Soviet willingness to end the Cold War was its acceptance of Eastern Europe’s rapid moves away from Communist Party control” (154).
Moreover, the authors managed to capture the key social and cultural tendencies, which prevailed in the American society at the time, therefore, locating the key factors that predetermined the existence of the tendencies in question. As a result, in a rather peculiar fashion, Hook and Spanier managed to tie in politics and socio-cultural alterations, which the American society was undergoing at the time, rendering the two issues in a new and unusual manner.
Consequently, Hook and Spanier created the premises for locating the key characteristics of the identity of an American citizen by displaying the connection between the state policies, the choices made by the U.S. leaders and the needs and aspirations of an average American citizen of the era: “Most troubling, challengers, to the status quo inevitably exploit the void that results when a great power leads by improvisation” (Hook and Spanier 180).
Speaking of which, the book also provides very deep insight into the evolution of the American people and, therefore, addresses the essential stages in the U.S. development, which predetermined the development of the American identity. As a result, much like the previous chapter, the chapter in question captures the key aspects of the American personality and worldview.
It should also be born in mind that the research does not whitewash some of the mistakes that the United States’ leaders made in the past by acknowledging the fact that the American policy on the use of the existing resources led to the emergence of a range of environmental concerns; particularly, the increase in the consumption of the products that polluted the environment by emitting the chemicals that caused the increase in greenhouse gases was admitted by the authors.
More importantly, apart from outlining the key problems that the U.S. political moves triggered, the authors also mention the strategies that were adopted in order to eliminate the key causes of concern: “The treaty, approved by eighty-three other governments, required industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions” (Hook and Spanier 262). Consequently, the authors adopt a balanced approach that allows for understanding the situation, in which America found itself in at the end of the 20th century by reconstructing the events that took place in 1920–2000.
In addition, one must give the authors credit for addressing the topic as controversial as the reconsiderations of America’s role in the world, including both the political and the economic alterations that were occurring at the global scale on the specified time slot. The policy of George Bush, which has been discussed in a variety of sources as a slightly biased approach to political interactions with other states, is also rendered by the authors; while attempting at making their tone less harsh than other sources, Hook and Spanier still admit that the political savvy of the then president of the United States could use certain improvement: “President Bush was a lifelong politician who lacked Ronald Reagan’s flamboyance and his convictions” (Hook and Spanier 152).
Moreover, the significance of environmentalism on the further policy of the United States, i.e., gearing the state economy towards globalization and the reassessment of the resources utilization, must be viewed as one of the strengths of the book. The narrators have located the links between the emerging “green” movement and the significance of sustainability as the concept of the reasonable use of resources. Thus, Hook and Spanier contributed to a better understanding of the need for the United States to resume the green policy, therefore, incorporating it into the framework of the current policies on the statewide level.
Finally, even though Hook and Spanier are clearly prone to glorifying the United States, their leaders, and the key decisions that affected the U.S. economy and politics, in a manner that is clearly worth appreciation, the authors never diminish the role or significance of other states, either. Specifically, Hook and Spanier seem rather neutral when describing the downfall of the Soviet Union, pointing solely at the facts, i.e., the factors that led to its demise, the economic perspectives of Russia, etc. The approach that the authors have undertaken in order to render some of the most biased issues regarding the political course of other states that the U.S. interacted politically within the 20th century is definitely a major strength of the chapter.
Weaknesses
Unfortunately, along with its numerous strengths, the chapter in question also has a range of weaknesses, including the portrayal of the United States’ political framework as impeccable and the unwillingness to acknowledge the mistakes that the government of the USA made at the time. The harsh critique of the approaches adopted in managing international relationships by other countries drops the value of the extensive study conducted by Hook and Spanier a few notches, therefore, making the research findings not as credible as they could be.
Despite the fact that the aforementioned issue cannot be considered as very distractive, complimenting the American politicians and avoiding critiquing the major flaws of the U.S. policy is one of the defining weaknesses of the chapter. Though it does not make the assumptions provided by the authors wrong, it still hinders the acquisition of the related information concerning the role of the U.S. in global politics.
Conclusion
Despite the difficulty, which the analysis of the political alterations within the United States was fraught with, Hook and Spanier carried out a very deep study and created a compelling argument that helped the audience view the issues discussed in the book in a different light; however, the inability of the authors to criticize the obvious flaws of the American policy adopted at the time results in the study lacking objectivity.
The all-embracive approach, which Hook and Spanier apply to the study of the American political society on the specified time slot, creates the premises for a rather thorough study of the key implications of the American policy. While the authors’ endeavors at glorifying the American history and most of the actions that the leaders of the United States took in the process of restoring the state economy can be interpreted as not quite credible, the efforts, which Hook and Spanier have taken in order to collect and analyze the data regarding the U.S. economy throughout the post-Cold War era is worth appreciating.
Works Cited
Hook, Steven W. and John Spanier. American Foreign Policy since World War II. 19th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2013. Print.