Defending the National Interest

Raw Materials Investments and U.S. Foreign Policy

Stephen D. Krasner

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780691021829, 9780691076003
• eBook ISBN: 9780691219516
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Economic Policy
• Index: Economics

Stephen Krasner's assumption of a distinction between state and society is the root of his argument for the superiority of a statist interpretation of American foreign policy. Here he challenges the two dominant and rival interpretations of the relationship between state and society: interest group liberalism and Marxism. He contends that the state is an autonomous entity acting on behalf of the national interest, and that state behavior cannot be explained by group or class interest.



On the basis of fifteen case studies drawn from extensive public records and published literature on American raw materials policy in the twentieth-century, Professor Krasner provides empirical substance to the debate about the meaning of the "national interest," the importance of bureaucratic politics, and the influence of business on American foreign policy.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• Contents
• List of Tables and Figure
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Part One
• Part Two
• Part Three
• Part Four
• Appendix: The Evolution of Foreign Raw Materials Investments
• Bibliography
• Index