Power without Victory

Woodrow Wilson and the American Internationalist Experiment

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, International, International Relations, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book Power without Victory by Trygve Throntveit, University of Chicago Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Trygve Throntveit ISBN: 9780226460079
Publisher: University of Chicago Press Publication: July 15, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press Language: English
Author: Trygve Throntveit
ISBN: 9780226460079
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Publication: July 15, 2017
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Language: English

For decades, Woodrow Wilson has been remembered as either a paternalistic liberal or reactionary conservative at home and as a naïve idealist or cynical imperialist abroad. Historians’ harsh judgments of Wilson are understandable. He won two elections by promising a deliberative democratic process that would ensure justice and political empowerment for all. Yet under Wilson, Jim Crow persisted, interventions in Latin America increased, and a humiliating peace settlement was forced upon Germany. A generation after Wilson, stark inequalities and injustices still plagued the nation, myopic nationalism hindered its responsible engagement in world affairs, and a second vastly destructive global conflict threatened the survival of democracy worldwide—leaving some Americans today to wonder what, exactly, the buildings and programs bearing his name are commemorating.

In Power without Victory, Trygve Throntveit argues that there is more to the story of Wilson than these sad truths. Throntveit makes the case that Wilson was not a “Wilsonian,” as that term has come to be understood, but a principled pragmatist in the tradition of William James. He did not seek to stamp American-style democracy on other peoples, but to enable the gradual development of a genuinely global system of governance that would maintain justice and facilitate peaceful change—a goal that, contrary to historical tradition, the American people embraced. In this brilliant intellectual, cultural, and political history, Throntveit gives us a new vision of Wilson, as well as a model of how to think about the complex relationship between the world of ideas and the worlds of policy and diplomacy.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For decades, Woodrow Wilson has been remembered as either a paternalistic liberal or reactionary conservative at home and as a naïve idealist or cynical imperialist abroad. Historians’ harsh judgments of Wilson are understandable. He won two elections by promising a deliberative democratic process that would ensure justice and political empowerment for all. Yet under Wilson, Jim Crow persisted, interventions in Latin America increased, and a humiliating peace settlement was forced upon Germany. A generation after Wilson, stark inequalities and injustices still plagued the nation, myopic nationalism hindered its responsible engagement in world affairs, and a second vastly destructive global conflict threatened the survival of democracy worldwide—leaving some Americans today to wonder what, exactly, the buildings and programs bearing his name are commemorating.

In Power without Victory, Trygve Throntveit argues that there is more to the story of Wilson than these sad truths. Throntveit makes the case that Wilson was not a “Wilsonian,” as that term has come to be understood, but a principled pragmatist in the tradition of William James. He did not seek to stamp American-style democracy on other peoples, but to enable the gradual development of a genuinely global system of governance that would maintain justice and facilitate peaceful change—a goal that, contrary to historical tradition, the American people embraced. In this brilliant intellectual, cultural, and political history, Throntveit gives us a new vision of Wilson, as well as a model of how to think about the complex relationship between the world of ideas and the worlds of policy and diplomacy.

More books from University of Chicago Press

Cover of the book Insurgent Democracy by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Enlightenment Orientalism by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Black Picket Fences, Second Edition by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book The Social Citizen by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book The Ancient Shore by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Our Vampires, Ourselves by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book The Human Condition by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Patty's Got a Gun by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Hayek on Hayek by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Gods and Demons, Priests and Scholars by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Transition Scenarios by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Becoming Political by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Derivatives and the Wealth of Societies by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book Neither Donkey nor Horse by Trygve Throntveit
Cover of the book The Economics of Food Price Volatility by Trygve Throntveit
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy