"A Creative Tension is a unique look at the foreign policy roles of Congress and the president by one of the most astute congressional practitioners of foreign policy of recent decades, former U.S. representative and chairman of the House International Relations Committee Lee H. Hamilton. With an insider's perspective based on thirty-four years in Congress, Hamilton elucidates current domestic and international pressures influencing U.S. foreign policy, strengths and weaknesses in the foreign policy process, and ways to improve the performance of the president and Congress. A Creative Tension argues that better consultation between the executive and legislative branches is the most effective way to strengthen American foreign policy. This book should be of interest to foreign policy makers, scholars and students of American politics, and the general public."--BOOK JACKET.
Setting / LocationGlobal
Story EraModern Era
Protagonist / CoreA creative tension Lead Character
How does Congress function? Why are there so many hindrances to policymaking? What are the alternatives to the decentralized nature of this institution? The Contemporary Congress draws on extensive contemporary research to provide a basic understanding of the United States Congress. In the wake of the 1994 elections, Loomis examines the decentralized Congress of the last forty years and the possibilities for the new Congress to produce coherent, programmatic policies.
The strength and prestige of democracy worldwide at the end of the twentieth century are due in good measure to the impact of America on international affairs, argues Tony Smith. Here for the first time is a book that documents the extraordinary history of American foreign policy with respect to the promotion of democracy worldwide, an effort whose greatest triumph came in the occupations of Japan and Germany but whose setbacks include interventions in Latin America and Vietnam. As Americans ponder the challenges of world affairs at the end of the Cold War, Smith suggests that they think back to other times when Washington's decisions were critical: not only to the end of the World Wars in 1918 and 1945, but to the end of the Spanish-American War in 1898 and the Civil War in 1865 as well. They will find that in the aftermath of victory, Washington determined to win the peace by promoting a concept of national security calling ultimately for democratic government in Europe, Latin America, and the Far East. So the Congress set out to "reconstruct" the South in 1867; America aimed to democratize the Philippines in 1898; Wilson sought to "make the world safe for democracy," first in Latin America and then, after 1918, in Central and Eastern Europe; FDR and Truman dictated the democratization of Japan and Germany and called for democracy in Eastern Europe after 1945; Kennedy promoted the Alliance for Progress in Latin America; Carter launched his human rights campaign; Reagan (the most Wilsonian of Wilson's successors) heralded an international "democratic revolution"; Bush called for a "new world order"; and Clinton declared that "our overriding purpose must be to expand and strengthen the world's community of market-based democracies.". Through a study of selected countries - most notably Germany, Japan, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic, Iran, and Nicaragua (but also Mexico, Chile, Guatemala, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Greece, South Africa, and Russia) - Smith reviews the American record both in local terms and with respect to its impact on world politics. Smith's story is at once that of the central thrust of American foreign policy in the twentieth century, and that of the central international political struggle of the period among nationalists wedded to rival ideologies of fascism, communism, and democracy, each striving to dominate world affairs. Now that this struggle appears to be over, the question is whether democracy can consolidate its position as the sole legitimate form of government worldwide, so creating a common form of government to express the nationalist sentiments that continue to be the hallmark of this century.
The American Congress provides the most insightful, up-to-date treatment of congressional politics available in an undergraduate text. Informed by the authors' Capitol Hill experience and nationally-recognized scholarship, The American Congress presents a crisp introduction to all major features of Congress: its party and committee systems, leadership, and voting and floor activity. The American Congress has the most in-depth discussions of the place of the president, the courts, and interest groups in congressional policy made available in a text. The text blends an emphasis on recent developments in congressional politics with a clear discussion of the rules of the game, the history of key features of Congress, and stories from recent Congresses that bring politics to life. No other text weaves into the discussion of the important ideas of recent political science research. The book includes the most comprehensive list of suggested readings and Internet resources on Congress.
Repeatedly during his eight years as president, George Washington saved the infant republic from the factionalism and the involvement in foreign wars that threatened its existence. He skillfully moderated the feuds among his cabinet -- especially those between Hamilton and Jefferson -- and achieved his own political ends by seeming to be above politics. His actions and character defined the very nature of the presidency and, even more than the Constitution itself, made the new American government work. Better than any biographer before him, Richard Norton Smith gives us the "living" Washington, a working politician beset by crises, a masterly manager of men and events, anything but the time-worn marble monument. - Back cover.
A creative tension by Lee H. Hamilton with Jordan Tama | Literally Just Books
