The Prosperity Agenda: What the World Wants from America--and What We Need in Return
()
About this ebook
In this provocative, ingenious book, Soderberg and Katulis make one of the most controversial arguments that foreign policy circles have seen in years: no more putting all our eggs in the basket of promoting democracy or market reforms, or even diplomacy, sanctions, or cash handouts to faltering governments. Instead, they argue, we should go right to the citizens of troubled nations and give them what they need most. People in the Congo, Iraq, Pakistan, and North Korea all have the same concerns, and the right to vote is far from the top of the list. They need freedom from war, good food and shelter, basic health care, and the reasonable hope that tomorrow will be better. It's not only the right thing to do; it's likely to do more for American interests than the policies we've been relying on for years.
Why have seven years of President Bush's "freedom agenda" failed to achieve freedom or democracy in Iraq, Afghanistan, or anywhere else? When democracy starts to sound like a code word for advancing U.S. interests, it backfires. Latin America provides an excellent example of why freedom's march has stalled, in large part due to quality-of-life issues. A 2004 survey showed that a majority of people in Latin America would rather have a government that provided economic gains than a democracy.
The Prosperity Agenda embraces a new and compelling strategy for overcoming that problem and dealing with the world. Giving money, weapons, and loans with lots of strings attached doesn't do it. But handing out vaccines, disaster relief, and $100 laptops does. Working to improve the basic lives of people will, in the end, help defeat terrorism, increase America's leverage against its enemies, weaken dictatorships, and, most importantly, save the lives of millions.
Related to The Prosperity Agenda
Related ebooks
Hearts and Minds: A People's History of Counterinsurgency Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrinciples of direct and superior responsibility in international humanitarian law Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsArms of Little Value: The Challenge of Insurgency and Global Instability in the Twenty-First Century Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTerrorism, Ticking Time-Bombs, and Torture: A Philosophical Analysis Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Calamity to Stability: Harnessing the Wisdom of Past Financial Crises to Build a Stable and Resilient Global Financial System Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGolan Heights Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStandoff: Race, Policing, and a Deadly Assault That Gripped a Nation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPrinceton Readings in American Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsState of the Union Addresses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGovernance in the New Global Disorder: Politics for a Post-Sovereign Society Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Trade Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The Shooting of Rabbit Wells: A White Cop, a Young Man of Color, and an American Tragedy; with a New Introduction by the Author Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAl-Qaeda the Spider: Mass Terrorism Is Not Dead. Are We Safe? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings50 Things They Don't Want You to Know Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The International Criminal Court: An Introduction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUnited Nations: A History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5American Force: Dangers, Delusions, and Dilemmas in National Security Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Wounded Eagle: Three Years in the Mexican Drug War, Volume 1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Torture Memos: Rationalizing the Unthinkable Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How the Gloves Came Off: Lawyers, Policy Makers, and Norms in the Debate on Torture Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cognitive Warfare in the Age of Unpeace: Strategies, Defenses, and the New Battlefield of the Mind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMafia: The Government's Secret File on Organized Crime Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThinking About the Presidency: The Primacy of Power Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Price of Paradise: The Costs of Inequality and a Vision for a More Equitable America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Religious Appeals in Power Politics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsState of the Union Addresses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSuperpowers, Rogue States and Terrorism: Countering the Security Threats to the West Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOpus Dei Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
International Relations For You
Oil: A Beginner's Guide Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Can We Talk About Israel?: A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5In the Garden of Beasts: by Erik Larson | Summary & Analysis: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA History of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Second Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mossad: The Greatest Missions of the Israeli Secret Service Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Art of War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Is This the End of the Liberal International Order?: The Munk Debate on Geopolitics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe CIA as Organized Crime: How Illegal Operations Corrupt America and the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sex and World Peace Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Destined For War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inside the CIA Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Red-Handed: How American Elites Get Rich Helping China Win Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fidel Castro: My Life: A Spoken Autobiography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Narco History: How the United States and Mexico Jointly Created the "Mexican Drug War" Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Explain Everything About the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When China Attacks: A Warning to America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Coup: 1953, the CIA, and the Roots of Modern U.S.-Iranian Relations Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Crazy Like Us: The Globalization of the American Psyche Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The War of Return: How Western Indulgence of the Palestinian Dream Has Obstructed the Path to Peace Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGod's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Age of Walls: How Barriers Between Nations Are Changing Our World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Putin's Playbook: Russia's Secret Plan to Defeat America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Prosperity Agenda
0 ratings0 reviews