Understanding American Power

"There is so much polemic surrounding the debate about America's role in the world that it is a great relief to read Mabee's carefully constructed, empirically rich and analytically superior work on the real as opposed to the imagined position of the United States in the modern world order. At last, a book I can completely recommend to students and scholars alike." - Michael Cox, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK "[A] first-rate discussion of evolving US global hegemony... lucidly argued, theoretically sophisticated and persuasive. Mabee's confidently rooted, historical understanding of contemporary issues shines through on nearly every page." - John Dumbrell, International Affairs "Mabee argues that analysis of US power are incomplete without a focus on the domestic source of power. Though his central purpose is to examine US power in the world today, he carefully defines power as a function of both system- and state-level variables." - Choice

This broad-ranging assessment of US power in the twenty-first century covers not just the nature and mechanics of foreign policy but the broad array of economic, military, political, social and ideological forces that shape America's global position and role, all set in a clear historical context.This broad-ranging assessment of US power in the twenty-first century covers not just the nature and mechanics of foreign policy but the broad array of economic, military, political, social and ideological forces that shape America's global position and role, all set in a clear historical context.