Isolationism: A History of America's Efforts to Shield Itself from the World

The first book to tell the full story of American isolationism, from the founding era through the Trump presidency, explores the enduring connection between the isolationist impulse and the American experience. It argues that isolationism afforded the nation clear strategic advantages during its ascent but constituted a dangerous delusion during the 1930s.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 464 pages
Publication date: 14 November 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

The first book to comprehensively chronicle American isolationism, from the nation's founding to the Trump presidency. In his Farewell Address of 1796, President George Washington counseled the young nation to avoid long-term alliances with any part of the foreign world. Isolationism then emerged as one of the most influential political movements in American history. The United States avoided strategic commitments abroad until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, making only brief forays during the Spanish-American War and World War I. Americans abandoned isolationism during World War II and the Cold War, attempting to rule the world rather than flee from it. Isolationism, however, is making a comeback as Americans grow weary of foreign entanglements.

In this comprehensive and masterful examination, Charles Kupchan delves into the enduring relationship between the isolationist impulse and the American experience. He also revives isolationism's reputation, arguing that it was a dangerous delusion during the 1930s but provided the nation with clear strategic advantages during its ascent. Kupchan traces the persistence of isolationism to the ideology of American exceptionalism. Strategic disengagement from the outside world was intended to safeguard the nation's unique experiment in liberty, which America would then disseminate to others through the force of example. Since 1941, the United States has adopted a much more interventionist approach to global change. However, it has gone too far, prompting Americans to rekindle their fascination with non-interference and an America First foreign policy.

The United States is unlikely to revert to isolationism, yet a strategic retreat is necessary.

Weight: 662g
Dimension: 236 x 156 x 28 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197642610