Dominic Sandbrook
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748626014
- eISBN:
- 9780748670673
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748626014.003.0002
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
In this chapter, Dominic Sandbrook traces the roots of the political debates of the 1990s and 2000s to the ascendancy of Ronald Reagan between 1981 and 1988. He argues that American politics during ...
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In this chapter, Dominic Sandbrook traces the roots of the political debates of the 1990s and 2000s to the ascendancy of Ronald Reagan between 1981 and 1988. He argues that American politics during the Clinton and Bush years was governed by an underlying, undeclared consensus, in which liberals generally accepted free-market economic principles, while conservatives struck a quiet compromise with the new moral values of a changing society. He questions the myth of a culture war between left and right, showing how most Americans located themselves somewhere in the middle, and sees Bill Clinton as the modern politician par excellence, due to his carefully blurred ideological message and understated conservatism on fiscal issues. Finally, he argues that the American electorate was much less divided than is commonly thought, flickering inconsistently between moral traditionalism and libertarian individualism, and often falling between the two stools.Less
In this chapter, Dominic Sandbrook traces the roots of the political debates of the 1990s and 2000s to the ascendancy of Ronald Reagan between 1981 and 1988. He argues that American politics during the Clinton and Bush years was governed by an underlying, undeclared consensus, in which liberals generally accepted free-market economic principles, while conservatives struck a quiet compromise with the new moral values of a changing society. He questions the myth of a culture war between left and right, showing how most Americans located themselves somewhere in the middle, and sees Bill Clinton as the modern politician par excellence, due to his carefully blurred ideological message and understated conservatism on fiscal issues. Finally, he argues that the American electorate was much less divided than is commonly thought, flickering inconsistently between moral traditionalism and libertarian individualism, and often falling between the two stools.
Martin Halliwell
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748626014
- eISBN:
- 9780748670673
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748626014.003.0014
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
Martin Halliwell begins this chapter by discussing pluralistic cultural currents at the turn of the twenty-first century which he links to President Clinton’s final State of the Union address of ...
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Martin Halliwell begins this chapter by discussing pluralistic cultural currents at the turn of the twenty-first century which he links to President Clinton’s final State of the Union address of January 2000. This view is in stark contrast to a speech Clinton delivered after the attacks of 11 September 2001 where he expressed worries about the hardening of ideological and cultural battle lines. Halliwell considers the perceived decline of the public intellectual and intellectual communities as a way of testing the political fault-lines that run through early century American culture. The chapter moves on to consider how these fault-lines played out in the cultural sphere, discussing the re-emergence of politicized voices within the music industry, in the shape of Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, and in outspoken films such as Good Night, and Good Luck (2004) and The 11th Hour (2007). The chapter ends by surveying the third section of this volume, indicating lines of cultural continuity as well as new developments in the early years of the twenty-first century.Less
Martin Halliwell begins this chapter by discussing pluralistic cultural currents at the turn of the twenty-first century which he links to President Clinton’s final State of the Union address of January 2000. This view is in stark contrast to a speech Clinton delivered after the attacks of 11 September 2001 where he expressed worries about the hardening of ideological and cultural battle lines. Halliwell considers the perceived decline of the public intellectual and intellectual communities as a way of testing the political fault-lines that run through early century American culture. The chapter moves on to consider how these fault-lines played out in the cultural sphere, discussing the re-emergence of politicized voices within the music industry, in the shape of Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young, and in outspoken films such as Good Night, and Good Luck (2004) and The 11th Hour (2007). The chapter ends by surveying the third section of this volume, indicating lines of cultural continuity as well as new developments in the early years of the twenty-first century.
Jorge I. Domínguez
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780813040233
- eISBN:
- 9780813043852
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University Press of Florida
- DOI:
- 10.5744/florida/9780813040233.003.0015
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Latin American Studies
This chapter explores four scholarly explanations, from the distribution of power's changing dynamics in the international system with the end of the cold war in Europe to the irreconcilability of ...
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This chapter explores four scholarly explanations, from the distribution of power's changing dynamics in the international system with the end of the cold war in Europe to the irreconcilability of their conflicting ideologies, for why the U.S. established workable relations with every remaining communist government but Cuba. However, these explanations do not offer a reason as to why the U.S. did not simply invade Cuba as a result of these differences. In this essay, Domínguez aims to suggest that the United States was deterred from such actions both by Cuba's military capabilities and by the “balancing” provided by other international actors.Less
This chapter explores four scholarly explanations, from the distribution of power's changing dynamics in the international system with the end of the cold war in Europe to the irreconcilability of their conflicting ideologies, for why the U.S. established workable relations with every remaining communist government but Cuba. However, these explanations do not offer a reason as to why the U.S. did not simply invade Cuba as a result of these differences. In this essay, Domínguez aims to suggest that the United States was deterred from such actions both by Cuba's military capabilities and by the “balancing” provided by other international actors.
Nancy Snow
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748626014
- eISBN:
- 9780748670673
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748626014.003.0007
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Cultural Studies
This chapter examines official rhetoric in the wake of 9/11, noting the influence of commercially-driven marketing and public relations techniques on government operations, as well as the apparent ...
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This chapter examines official rhetoric in the wake of 9/11, noting the influence of commercially-driven marketing and public relations techniques on government operations, as well as the apparent contradictions between principles and practice. The author, Nancy Snow, identifies a problematic notion of propaganda in the United States, wherein it is perceived as a tool of mass manipulation deployed only in totalitarian states. However, the kind of persuasive tactics commonly associated with propaganda are also observable in peacetime democracies through consensus and some, albeit minimal, censorship. Tracing the history of twentieth-century American propaganda from Edward Bernays through the policies and rhetoric of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the chapter concludes with an exploration of various American propaganda exercises, such as the Shared Values Initiative of 2002-3, and a consideration of the gulf between American political rhetoric and the reality of post-9/11 foreign policy.Less
This chapter examines official rhetoric in the wake of 9/11, noting the influence of commercially-driven marketing and public relations techniques on government operations, as well as the apparent contradictions between principles and practice. The author, Nancy Snow, identifies a problematic notion of propaganda in the United States, wherein it is perceived as a tool of mass manipulation deployed only in totalitarian states. However, the kind of persuasive tactics commonly associated with propaganda are also observable in peacetime democracies through consensus and some, albeit minimal, censorship. Tracing the history of twentieth-century American propaganda from Edward Bernays through the policies and rhetoric of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, the chapter concludes with an exploration of various American propaganda exercises, such as the Shared Values Initiative of 2002-3, and a consideration of the gulf between American political rhetoric and the reality of post-9/11 foreign policy.
