History, the White House and the Kremlin Statesmen as Historians

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international responsibilities, Soviet expansionism, the Cuban Missile Crisis, US policy towards Latin America and the historical content of President Bush Sr.'s response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

List of Contributors
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction Michael Fry
2. United States Policy and the Palestine Problem: historical Dimensions and the Creation of an 'Alternative Narrative' Rashid Khalidi
3. The Boundaries of Rational Calculation in Soviet Policy towards Japan Jonathan Haslam
4. The Cuban Missile Crisis Twenty-Five Years Later: The Learning Continues Dwain Mefford
5. The Soviet General Staff: An Institution's Response to Change Condoleezza Rice
6. British and American Hegemony Compared: Lessons for the Current Era of Decline David Lake
7. Being a Borrower: The Re-Emergence of the United States as a Debtor Nation Diane Kunz
8. The United States and Inter-War Money and Finance: Lessons for Japan's Future from America's Past Jeffry Frieden
9. The Politics of Empire: A Theory with an Application to the Soviet Case Jack Snyder
10. The Power of Historical Analogies: Soviet Interventions in Eastern Europe and US Interventions in Central America Dwain Mefford
11. Learning and Reasoning by Analogy Alex Hybel
12. Conclusion Alan Henrikson
Index

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