Full Description
Can great powers ensure the political outcomes they want and prevent political developments they oppose, by stationing their military forces in distant regions during peacetime? If so, what kinds of military capabilities yield this sort of peacetime political leverage? And what kinds of political goals can-and, just as importantly, cannot-be achieved through "forward military presence?" In the post-9/11 world, as the United States seeks to use its unrivalled global military predominance to build a safer, better world by preventing terrorism and encouraging societies around the world to embrace democracy, these questions take on enormous importance. Presence, Prevention, and Persuasion addresses these issues by looking at British, French, and American experiences in the Middle East, South America, the Caribbean basin, and Africa over the last two centuries. The authors' findings will have a significant impact on scholarship but, more importantly, on American decision-making communities. An essential volume for anyone working in the field of international relations whether it is policy making, diplomacy, military planning or the private sector.
Contents
Chapter 1 A Sword Half Withdrawn from the Scabbard: The Royal Navy and British "Shaping" of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant, 1816-1852
Chapter 2 Decline, Disengagement, and Shaping the Periphery: Great Britain in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant, 1919-1937
Chapter 3 A Shadow Cast from Afar: The Royal Navy in South America, 1850-1900
Chapter 4 The U.S. Navy in the Caribbean, 1903-1920
Chapter 5 La Chasse Gardee: Post-World War II French West Africa, 1945-1970
Chapter 6 Toujours la Chasse Gardee? French Power and Influence in Late 20th Century Francophone Central Africa, 1970-1995
Chapter 7 Conclusions
