America's Strategy in World Politics: The United States and the Balance of Power

by Nicholas Spykman

Less than a year after the United States entered the Second World War, Nicholas Spykman wrote a book that placed the war effort in the broader context of the 1940s global balance of power. In America's Strategy in World Politics , Spykman examined world politics from a realist geopolitical perspective. The United States, he explained, was fighting for its very survival as an independent country because the conquests of Germany and Japan raised the specter of our geopolitical encirclement by hostile forces controlling the power centers of Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Spykman warned that the United States could not safely retreat to a defensive position in the Western Hemisphere. Spykman looked beyond the immediate strategic requirements of the Second World War, envisioning a postwar world in which the United States would help shape the global balance of power to meet its security needs. Even though Soviet Russia was our wartime ally, Spykman recognized that a geopolitically unbalanced Soviet Union could threaten to upset the postwar balance of power and thereby endanger U.S. security. Spykman also foresaw the rise of China in postwar Asia, and the likely need for the United States to ally itself with Japan to balance China's power. He also recognized that the Middle East would play a pivotal role in the postwar world. Spykman influenced American postwar statesmen and strategists. During the Cold War, the U.S. sought to deny the Soviet Union political control of Western Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. Spykman's geopolitical vision of U.S. security, supported by a balanced Eurasian land mass, coupled with his focus on power as the governing force in international relations, makes America's Strategy in World Politics relevant to the twenty-first century.

Genres: Politics, History, United States, International Relations, Nonfiction

Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[Vheissu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strategic geopolitics has been out of fashion for decades, although the establishment of the creation of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency would have excited Spykman enormously. There are still important reasons to understand how simple geography affects the ebb and flow of national power. The book is outdated but the questions Spykman asks and the way he answers them are timeless.

[Barron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern commentators often cite Spykman as if he was an Asia-firster and antidote to Atlanticists. Nothing could be further from the truth, if one actually does the underlying reading here.

[noblethumos · Rating 5 out of 5]

"America's Strategy in World Politics" is a book by American political scientist Nicholas Spykman, first published in 1942. The book is a critical analysis of American foreign policy in the context of the global power struggles of the mid-20th century.

Spykman argues that the United States must adopt a strategic approach to foreign policy, in which it seeks to balance the power of potential adversaries and maintain its own security and interests. He suggests that this requires a focus on global geography, and an understanding of the geopolitical realities of different regions of the world.

Spykman also critiques the idea of isolationism, suggesting that it is no longer a viable option in a world where global power struggles have become increasingly intertwined. He argues that the United States must engage with the world and actively work to shape the balance of power in its favor.

Overall, "America's Strategy in World Politics" is an important contribution to the study of international relations and American foreign policy. The book has been widely read by scholars and policymakers, and has contributed to ongoing debates about the role of the United States in shaping global politics.

GPT