The Case for Goliath

How does the United States use its enormous power in the world? InThe Case for Goliath, Michael Mandelbaum offers a surprising answer: The United States furnishes to other countries the services that governments provide within the countries they govern.Mandelbaum explains how this role came about despite the fact that neither the United States nor any other country sought to establish it. He describes the contributions that American power makes to global security and prosperity, the shortcomings of American foreign policy, and how other countries have come to accept, resent, and exert influence on America's global role. And he assesses the prospects for the continuation of this role, which depends most importantly on whether the American public is willing to pay for it.Written with Mandelbaum's characteristic blend of clarity, wit, and profound understanding of America and the world,The Case for Goliathoffers a fresh and surprising approach to an issue that obsesses citizens and policymakers the world over, as well as a major statement on the foreign policy issues confronting the American people today.

Michael Mandelbaum is the Christian A. Herter Professor of American Foreign Policy at The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. A regular foreign affairs columnist for Newsday, Mandelbaum is the author or co-author of nine books, including The Ideas That Conquered the World: Peace, Democracy, and Free Markets in the Twenty-First Century.