Routledge Re-engage!: America and the World After Bush: An Informed Citizen's Guide

A veteran international journalist gives us a concise, readable guide that provides a new vision for the United States in the global community. Since 9/11, the United States has pursued a foreign policy some have called a "control paradigm"-a unilateral domination of world affairs through military means that tries to keep the lid on insecurity without addressing root causes or protecting human rights. The Bush administration's energetic use of this approach has ripped the fabric of America's relationship with the rest of the world. In this concise guide, veteran journalist Helena Cobban proposes moving the United States away from the control paradigm to a policy of global inclusion. Global inclusion seeks to repair the U.S. relationship with other countries, recommit the United States to effective participation in the United Nations and other multilateral institutions, and ground U.S. foreign policy firmly in the principle of human equality. It also involves moving away from the language of threats and fear to a language of challenge and possibility. This book outlines how a global inclusion policy would address key challenges faced not only by Americans but by the 95 percent of humanity who are not Americans: - Challenges of terrorism and weapons proliferation. - Growing global inequality. - Rights abuses worldwide. - Climate change. - Shifting international power balances. Cobban reminds readers we do not need to do any of these things alone. Since 9/11, she has traveled to 18 foreign countries on four continents. She has heard how deep the desire is among people in China, sub-Saharan Africa, the Muslim world, Europe, and elsewhere for the United States to rejoin the world community on a sound and cooperative basis. In heartfelt, accessible prose with highly readable tables, graphics, websites, and other resources, she shows how we can re-engage as neighbors, as a country, and as a trusted international partner. Review “An impassioned, thought-provoking, and accessible brief from a highly esteemed journalist on how all of us―as individuals―can act to help better our country and world.” ―The Honorable Lee H. Hamilton, President, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Cochair of the Iraq Study Group, and former U.S. Representative (D-Indiana) “Cobban offers hard-hitting criticism and what’s more, a refreshingly optimistic blueprint for how the United States can rejoin the global community.” ―Amy Kaplan, Author of The Anarchy of Empire in the Making of U.S. Culture “Written by an indefatigable defender of democracy and a first-rate, prolific American journalist, this is an inspiring guidebook for how to restore America’s political and moral position in the world.” ―Vartan Gregorian, President, Carnegie Corporation of New York “This small, daring book is a grand affirmation of the power of the human spirit.” ―Rami G. Khouri, Editor-at-large, The Daily Star, Beruit “The readable prose, combined with graphics, charts and resource materials, make this an ideal book to pass on to friends, family, and colleagues who want a quick and smart guide to how the U.S. can restore its political and moral position in the world!” ―Katrina vanden Heuvel, Editor and Publisher, The Nation About the Author Helena Cobban is a columnist for the Christian Science Monitor and a contributing writer at the Boston Review. She has also written several books, including The Moral Architecture of World Peace (University of Virginia Press 2000), The Superpowers and the Syrian-Israeli Conflict (Praeger Publishers 1991) and The Making of Modern Lebanon (Hutchinson 1985).