David Ekbladh is assistant professor of history at Tufts University.
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