Books, Arts & Manners: Blame America First

The Democratic Imperative: Exporting the American Revolution, by Gregory A. Fossedal (Basic Books, 293 pp., $19.95)

As this century of dictatorship and chaos draws to a close, liberalism and democracy seem to many observers to be on the march. In much of Asia, the Muslim world, and Africa, autocracy remains securely in the saddle, it is true. In the Spanish-speaking world, however, many military dictatorships. have given way to civilian regimes. The Soviet Union is experimenting with limited liberalization, and is encouraging similar reforms in its satellites. Students in China are testing their Communist government’s toleration of increased criticism. The relationship among these diverse trends, if any, and their significance for American foreign policy would make a timely subject for a carefully researched and sober book.

ML

About the Author

Michael Lind

Mr. Lind is a visiting professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of The American Way of Strategy.

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The Democratic Imperative: Exporting the American Revolution, by Gregory A. Fossedal (Basic Books, 293 pp., $19.95)

As this century of dictatorship and chaos draws to a close, liberalism and democracy seem to many observers to be on the march. In much of Asia, the Muslim world, and Africa, autocracy remains securely in the saddle, it is true. In the Spanish-speaking world, however, many military dictatorships. have given way to civilian regimes. The Soviet Union is experimenting with limited liberalization, and is encouraging similar reforms in its satellites. Students in China are testing their Communist government’s toleration of increased criticism. The relationship among these diverse trends, if any, and their significance for American foreign policy would make a timely subject for a carefully researched and sober book.

ML

About the Author

Michael Lind

Mr. Lind is a visiting professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of The American Way of Strategy.