The Great American Mission: Modernization and the Construction of an American World Order

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David Ekbladh

The Great American Mission

Modernization and the Construction of an American World Order

David Ekbladh

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English

Princeton University Press
07 November 2011

History of the Americas; 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000

Series: America in the World

The Great American Mission traces how America's global modernization efforts during the twentieth century were a means to remake the world in its own image. David Ekbladh shows that the emerging concept of modernization combined existing development ideas from the Depression. He describes how ambitious New Deal programs like the Tennessee Valley Authority became symbols of American liberalism's ability to marshal the social sciences, state planning, civil society, and technology to produce extensive social and economic change. For proponents, it became a valuable weapon to check the influence of menacing ideologies such as Fascism and Communism. Modernization took on profound geopolitical importance as the United States grappled with these threats. After World War II, modernization remained a means to contain the growing influence of the Soviet Union. Ekbladh demonstrates how U.S.-led nation-building efforts in global hot spots, enlisting an array of nongovernmental groups and international organizations, were a basic part of American strategy in the Cold War. However, a close connection to the Vietnam War and the upheavals of the 1960s would discredit modernization.

The end of the Cold War further obscured modernization's mission, but many of its assumptions regained prominence after September 11 as the United States moved to contain new threats. Using new sources and perspectives, The Great American Mission offers new and challenging interpretations of America's ideological motivations and humanitarian responsibilities abroad.

By: David Ekbladh
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Volume: 1
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 595g
ISBN: 9780691152455
ISBN 10: 0691152454
Series: America in the World
Pages: 408
Publication Date: 07 November 2011
Audience: General/trade , Adult education , ELT Advanced , Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

David Ekbladh is assistant professor of history at Tufts University.

Reviews for The Great American Mission: Modernization and the Construction of an American World Order

In this important book, Ekbladh provides one of the most compelling portraits yet of the liberal ideas that guide U.S. foreign policy... Even though the liberal vision of modernization lost appeal amid the trauma of the Vietnam War, as Ekbladh's fascinating account makes clear, it remains deeply embedded in the American imagination. -- John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs [T]his is a book with a broad mandate... It is a significant contribution to have such a compelling account of the overall strategic impetus of American development during, before, and after the Cold War. -- Travis Nelson, Political Science Quarterly Ekbladh offers a sweeping, provocative appraisal of the U.S. attempt to employ development as an ideological weapon. -- Choice [E]rudite and ambitious... [A]n illuminating and compelling read. -- David Milne, Journal of American Studies The Great American Mission deserves to take its place among the literature on the evolution of US foreign relations in the twentieth century. -- Nicolas Bouchet, International Affairs

Winner of Best First Book Award, Phi Alpha Theta 2010 (United States)
Winner of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society Best First Book Award 2010
Winner of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society Best First Book Award 2010.
Winner of Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize 2011
Winner of Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize 2011.
Winner of Stuart L. Bernath Book Prize, Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations 2011 (United States)