Stanford University Press has set up a web page for my forthcoming book, due out on November 12. Here is a summary:
Why does liberal democracy take hold in some countries but not in others? This is one of the most enduring questions of our time. The problems posed by nondemocratic countries and the rogue groups within them are among the most pressing issues in the world today. Historically, the United States has attempted to generate change in these countries by exporting liberal democratic institutions through military occupation and reconstruction. Despite these efforts, the record of U.S.-led reconstructions has been mixed at best.
Why do we observe such different outcomes in military interventions, from Germany and Japan to Afghanistan and Iraq? Do efforts to export democracy help as much as they hurt? Are there alternatives to military occupation and reconstruction?
After War seeks to answer these critical foreign policy questions using the economic way of thinking to analyze the reconstruction process. Bringing an economic mindset to a topic traditionally tackled by historians, policymakers and political scientists, Coyne analyzes the constraints and limitations of exporting sustainable democracy at gunpoint. The book makes the bold case that committing to "principled non-intervention and unilateral free trade" is the best policy toward weak, failed, and conflict-torn states.
Chapter 1 is available here. I will post again when the book is available for pre-order.
Hey Doc,
I want my signed copy when it comes out. I'll impose a terribly high cost on you at WVU if you don't send it to me. Shamed to see you go man, I'll drop into West Virginia some time and we can grab a beer.
Posted by: Jon | May 14, 2007 at 03:32 PM