- 288 pages
- English
- PDF
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Historical knowledge in its various forms – learned, observed and experienced – is one of the principal intellectual resources available to politicians and the officials who serve them. These policy communities habitually, though sometimes naively, inexpertly and misleadingly, use history in the crafting of policy. In this book the question of whether politicians use history wisely and judiciously is posed about those who inhabit the Kremlin as well as the White House. The question has several dimensions which are examined here in a series of original essays. Is historically based reasoning rational? How influential is historical knowledge in deliberations over policy? And does historically based reasoning lead to sound decisions about future policy? The authors range over a wide area of economic and political issues – Palestine, Soviet policy, British and United States hegemonies and comparable predicaments, United States acceptance of its international responsibilities, Soviet expansionism, the Cuban Missile Crisis, US policy towards Latin America and the historical content of President Bush Sr.'s response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half-title
- Title
- Copyright
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- 2 United States policy and the Palestine problem: historical dimensions and the creation of an 'alternative narrative'
- 3 The boundaries of rational calculation in Soviet policy towards Japan
- 4 The Cuban Missile Crisis twenty-five years later: the learning continues
- 5 The Soviet General Staff: an institution's response to change
- 6 British and American hegemony compared: lessons for the current era of decline
- 7 Being a borrower: the re-emergence of the United States as a debtor nation
- 8 The United States and inter-war money and finance: lessons for Japan's future from America's past
- 9 The politics of empire: a theory with an application to the Soviet case
- 10 The power of historical analogies: Soviet interventions in Eastern Europe and US interventions in Central America
- 11 Learning and reasoning by analogy
- 12 Conclusion
- Index