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Store: An Independent Institute Book
THE EMPIRE HAS NO CLOTHES
U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed
By
Ivan Eland
Most Americans don’t think of their government as an empire, but in fact the United States has been steadily expanding its control of overseas territories since the turn of the twentieth century. Now, through political intimidation and over 700 military bases worldwide, the U.S. holds sway over an area that dwarfs the great empires of world history.
In The Empire Has No Clothes, Ivan Eland, a leading expert on U.S. defense policy and national security, examines American military interventions around the world from the Spanish-American War to the invasion of Iraq.
Eland shows that the concept of empire is wholly contrary to the principles of both liberals and conservatives and that it makes a mockery of the Founding Fathers’ vision for a free republic. Eland also warns that in recent years, “blowback” and the enormous expansion of domestic federal power resulting from this overextended empire have begun to threaten the American homeland itself and curtail the very liberties these interventions were supposed to protect.
Public debate of the United States’ role in the world has finally begun in earnest, and Ivan Eland delivers a penetrating argument in this landmark book, exposing the imperial motives behind interventionist U.S. policy, questioning the historical assumptions on which it is based and advocating a return to the Founding Fathers’ vision of military restraint overseas.
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Table of Contents
- Introduction: History of the U.S. Empire
- Does the United States Really Have an Empire?
- Why Conservatives Should Be Against Empire
- Why Liberals Should Be Against Empire
- Why All Americans Should Be Against Empire
- An Appropriate Foreign Policy for the Modern Age
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Index
- About the Author
Praise for The Empire Has No Clothes “I can honestly say I found The Empire Has No Clothes to be factually well grounded and extremely well thought out. The logic is sound as is the scholarship from my perspective. The Independent Institute should be commended for its role is supporting neutral research which is driven neither by the politics of the left or the right.”
—RINALDO S. BRUTOCO, President, The World Business Academy
“In The Empire Has No Clothes, Dr. Eland shows that the concept of empire is wholly contrary to the principles of liberals and conservatives alike and makes a mockery of the Founding Fathers’ vision for a free republic.”
—RON PAUL, U.S. Congressman
“In a sound-bite age, few people have the time or inclination to ponder the sweep of history. What is needed then is a primer on the subject, a sort of ‘Empire for Dummies,’ laying out in detail the follies of America’s current course of action, which is taking it steadily further away from its historical roots as a republic. The Empire Has No Clothes is a worthy tome written by Ivan Eland. He has observed imperialistic interventions by both right- and left-wing administrations—from George H. W. Bush through Bill Clinton to George W. Bush himself. His jaundice about their rhetoric and actions is both well documented and well deserved. He is obviously familiar with all the current proponents of American empire—from imports such as British historian Niall Ferguson to home grown pith-helmet and jodhpur-wearing wannabes Robert Kagan and Wall Street Journal essaying Max Boot—and their arguments and smoothly picks them apart. Observations like these are fairly frequent and quite entertaining and it’s worth buying the book for these alone.”
—ASIA TIMES
“The Empire Has No Clothes is a very important book. There are a lot of books out now about empire, but this is probably the most searching and the most provocative. I do hope you will read it and spread the word, and have all your friends and parents and whatever children you have read it too. The debate extends far beyond just the current situation. This book could have been written even if we had not gone to war two years ago in Iraq. We have had an empire by anyone’s definition. This book will pinpoint some of these issues for all of you.”
—C. BOYDEN GRAY, former Chief Counsel to the President of the United States
“Is the United States an empire? Yes, writes Ivan Eland of the Independent Institute. Washington dominates the affairs of many allied and client states without occupying them. This wasn’t the vision of America’s Founders. But World Wars I and II and the Cold War transformed Washington’s international role. As Mr. Eland argues in The Empire Has No Clothes, a book bound to irritate and even enrage, today’s expansive foreign policy is not just unnecessarily expensive—think of hundreds of thousands of troops stationed overseas to protect wealthy allies—but dangerous. Unfortunately, argues Mr. Eland, Americans have become the targets of terrorists less because others are jealous of their freedoms, as contended by President George W. Bush, among others, and more because of the U.S. government’s actions. His most important argument is that an interventionist stance makes Americans less secure. The issue has generated heated debate at home. But Mr. Eland is persuasive. Mr. Eland’s argument is not a prescription for putting one’s head in the sand. Rather, he recommends that America look before it leaps. There may be no more important lesson for policymakers in today’s often bloody and uncertain world.”
—WASHINGTON TIMES
“Transcending partisan biases and trivialities and modern misconceptions, Eland puts current international crises in historical, economic and philosophical context. The Empire Has No Clothes is a must read, accessible and useful to readers across the ideological spectrum, and its lasting importance will be equally compelling regardless of which interventionist candidate of whichever faction of the War Party wins the election this Nov. 2.”
—ANTIWAR.COM
“This book is the sobering antidote for the imperial wine that has impaired the judgment of American politicians, Republican and Democrats alike, since the end of the Cold War. In it, Ivan Eland catalogs the costs of the existing American Empire that include free riding allies, the growth of government, the erosion of liberties, and the blind hatred of tens of millions across the globe while outlining an alternative foreign policy that is both saner and safer than the foolishly interventionist one that has been the politicians’ consistent preference.”
—HARVEY M. SAPOLSKY, Professor of Political Science and Director of the Security Studies Program, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
“The Empire Has No Clothes is an extremely sensible book. I agree with Ivan Eland’s argument, though I doubt if it will be much appreciated by Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and Perle.”
—PAUL M. KENNEDY, Dilworth Professor of History and Director of the International Security Studies, Yale University; author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
“Those concerned that the Bush administration has unnecessarily overextended this nation’s militarily should read Ivan Eland’s latest book. In The Empire Has No Clothes, Dr. Eland makes a persuasive case that current U.S. national security policy is contrary to the principles of both liberals and conservatives and is actually undermining our security and civil liberties. This book is an excellent contribution to the debate on the Bush Doctrine of waging preventive wars, maintaining hegemony, and spreading democracy by force.”
—LAWRENCE J. KORB, former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense
“Ivan Eland’s book, The Empire Has No Clothes, is a comprehensive history of American imperialism, including a balanced treatment of various schools and definitions of imperialism as used by scholars, politicians, and pundits. More important it contains three long normative chapters on ‘Why Conservatives Should Be Against Empire,’ ‘Why Liberals Should Be Against Empire,’ and ‘Why All Americans Should Be Against Empire.’ These are tours de force and should greatly influence the debate in this country about how to restore a Constitutional foreign policy, one shorn of our rampant militarism. Eland concludes that ‘The Founders’ foreign policy is more relevant than ever,’ a direct challenge to those who would lead the country further into the deadly trap of imperialism. Read this book.”
—CHALMERS JOHNSON, author of Blowback and The Sorrows of Empire; President, Japan Policy Research Institute
“Ivan Eland said that Iraq would be a debacle before the war began. In his terrific new book, The Empire Has No Clothes, he explains in detail why Iraq and the pursuit of empire will make the United States less safe in the years ahead. Hopefully, more Americans will listen to him now—before we get ourselves into even more trouble at home and abroad”
—JOHN MEARSHEIMER, R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
“The Empire Has No Clothes: U.S. Foreign Policy Exposed has an engaging title, but Ivan Eland’s new book is a scholarly, compelling and provocative study of where we are, how we got here, and the dangers inherent in the aggressive, imperialist policies we are implementing. It is impressively lucid, filled with careful research, rational analysis and highly insightful commentary, certain to satisfy concerned readers across the political spectrum.”
—EDWARD L. PECK, former Chief of U.S. Mission in Iraq, former U.S. Ambassador to Mauritania
“The book, The Empire Has No Clothes, is an eloquent and well-researched argument that very much needs to be heard, contending that Americans, conservative as well as liberal, have become ensnared in an imperialism of which they are largely unaware, and of which they should disapprove. The book will play an important role in structuring a major debate about American foreign policy.”
—GEORGE H. QUESTER, Professor of Government and Politics, University of Maryland
“The Empire Has No Clothes offers a powerful and persuasive critique of recent U. S. foreign policy. It deserves the thoughtful attention of conservatives and liberals alike—indeed, of all Americans disturbed by the imperial pretensions evident in Washington since the end of the Cold War.”
—ANDREW J. BACEVICH, Professor of International Relations, Boston University
“Think a U.S. empire is desirable and viable? Read Ivan Eland‘s highly insightful, essential book, The Empire Has No Clothes, and you will change your mind.”
—EDWARD A. OLSEN, Professor of National Security Affairs, Naval Postgraduate School
“Ivan Eland’s provocative and well-researched critique of America’s interventionist foreign policy, The Empire Has No Clothes, makes a powerful case for returning to the practical principles of the Founding Fathers. With convincing examples that range across history to address the concerns of liberals and conservatives alike, he clearly demonstrates that our current democratic empire is a dangerous oxymoron.”
—MELVIN SMALL, Distinguished Professor of History, Wayne State University
“Victory in the Cold War eliminated the danger that another superpower or ideology could take over the rest of the world. Yet the United States still tries to run the world as much as it ever did. Eland’s book, The Empire Has No Clothes, is a sober, hard-hitting critique of this anomaly and a cogent brief for why liberals and conservatives together should reject an imperial role for America.”
—RICHARD K. BETTS, Director, Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University
“The Empire Has No Clothes is a powerful critique of American interventionism, focusing on the post-Cold War period. Eland brings together the American actions in Kosovo and Gulf War I & II, in a discussion of the ways in which our ‘nation-building’ has become a new form of empire. And what was disastrous for other ambitious world powers going back to Rome, he suggests, will fall upon us-sooner than we think. The heart of the book, moreover, are the chapters showing how both liberals and conservatives need to rethink their positions, and join in an effort to challenge the empire on grounds of self-interest. It is a great book!”
—LLOYD C. GARDNER, Charles and Mary Beard Professor of History, Rutgers University About the Author IVAN ELAND is recognized as one of the leading experts in U.S. defense and foreign policy. He is Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace & Liberty at The Independent Institute.
He received his M.B.A. in applied economics and Ph.D. in national security policy from George Washington University. He has been Director of Defense Policy Studies at the Cato Institute, Principal Defense Analyst at the Congressional Budget Office, and Investigator for the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Eland is the author of Putting “Defense” Back into U.S. Defense Policy and The Efficacy of Economic Sanctions as a Foreign Policy Tool, a contributor to numerous volumes, and the author of forty-five in-depth studies on national security issues. His articles have appeared in Arms Control Today, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Mediterranean Quarterly, and Middle East and International Review, and his popular writings have appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Philadelphia Inquirer, Washington Post, Newsday, Chicago Sun-Times, and Defense News. He has appeared on ABC, NPR, PBS, Fox News, CNBC, CNN, C-SPAN, MSNBC, Radio Free Europe, and BBC.
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