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From Bad to Worse: The United States and Western Europe, 1977–1984

Geir Lundestad

in The United States and Western Europe Since 1945: From "Empire" by Invitation to Transatlantic Drift

Gives an account of the worsening relations between the US and Western Europe during the Carter and Reagan administrations of 1977–1984. Jimmy Carter took over as President of the US with the best of ... More

Gives an account of the worsening relations between the US and Western Europe during the Carter and Reagan administrations of 1977–1984. Jimmy Carter took over as President of the US with the best of intentions: while continuing to improve relations with the Soviet Union and China, he would at the same time upgrade America's ties with its allies in Western Europe and Japan (trilateralism); this was not to be, and by the end of the 1970s Moscow had become so frustrated with Carter that the Soviet leaders actually preferred Ronald Reagan in the 1980 elections. American relations with some Western European countries, particularly West Germany, also reached a nadir. Ronald Reagan was determined to re‐establish the leadership role of the US with regard to both the Soviets and the Western Europeans: the ‘evil empire’ was to be defeated from a position of strength, and the ‘free world’ was to be united under America's firm leadership; neither was to be. Yet, even in these very difficult times for Atlantic relations most European leaders continued to issue at least some invitations to the Americans to increase their role militarily and economically, although these invitations were clearly more ambivalent now than before—public opinion was becoming more skeptical of the US, but still supported the main dimensions of the American role in Western Europe.Less

Present

Barbara Kellerman

in Professionalizing Leadership

By the 1980s the leadership industry had gone from incipient to entering a period of rapid growth that has not slowed. In fact, it still accelerates beyond anyone’s early imaginings. Chapter 2 is an ... More

By the 1980s the leadership industry had gone from incipient to entering a period of rapid growth that has not slowed. In fact, it still accelerates beyond anyone’s early imaginings. Chapter 2 is an overview of where we are now. It addresses questions such as these: How is leadership taught in the first quarter of the twenty-first century? Who are the leadership students? Who are the leadership teachers? Where is leadership being taught? What are the leadership pedagogies? What, in consequence of our investment, is the track record of leadership education, training, and development? Some ostensibly learn how to lead in college. Others ostensibly learn how to lead in graduate and professional schools, especially business schools. Still others ostensibly learn how to lead in large corporations or in government agencies. And there are those who learn to lead in the military, about which there is more later in the book.Less

Reconciling Security and Liberty: Attacks on the Capitol and Corresponding Changes in Security

Jocelyn Jones Evans

in One Nation Under Siege: Congress, Terrorism, and the Fate of American Democracy

This chapter discusses and traces the history of physical attacks on the U.S. Congress, beginning with the burning of the Capitol by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812 and continuing through ... More

This chapter discusses and traces the history of physical attacks on the U.S. Congress, beginning with the burning of the Capitol by the British in 1814 during the War of 1812 and continuing through the twenty-first century until the present. It argues that the Capitol has always been a symbol of liberty and self-government, which may be why it has always been a target for those who wish to criticize American political leadership.Less

The Popular Front in the American Century: Life Magazine, Margaret Bourke-White, and Partisan Objectivity

Vials Chris

in Realism for the Masses: Aesthetics, Popular Front Pluralism, and U.S. Culture, 1935-1947

This chapter describes Henry Luce’s call for American leadership. This involved a constantly shifting vision of American global citizenship that did not stop at U.S. borders. The parameters of this ... More

This chapter describes Henry Luce’s call for American leadership. This involved a constantly shifting vision of American global citizenship that did not stop at U.S. borders. The parameters of this political project within Time Inc. is outlined here by focusing on Life, from its founding up until the entrance of the U.S. into the Second World War. The magazine’s practically uncontested status as a source of visual news in its early days, its innovative uses of photography, and its massive diffusion within the upper and middle classes, placed it in a unique position to transform modes of vision within the more privileged sectors of the United States. The representational strategies by which this mass magazine tried to forge the class, national, and consumer consciousness of its “people” is investigated here, as well as the explicit politics it yoked to its new way of seeing.Less

Introduction

Omar H. Ali

in In the Lion's Mouth: Black Populism in the New South, 1886-1900

This chapter explores the role of the African Americans in the establishment of the Populist movement in the late 1800s. It explains that during the late 1800s, multiple African American populist ... More

This chapter explores the role of the African Americans in the establishment of the Populist movement in the late 1800s. It explains that during the late 1800s, multiple African American populist groups existed. These were composed of farmers, sharecroppers, and agrarian workers. Most of these groups were independent from the white-led populist movement, and the most notable example of African American leadership in populist groups was the Colored Alliance.Less

Crisis Management: The Balkan Experience

James W. Pardew

in Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans

The US engagement in the former Yugoslavia demonstrates the value of American leadership in an international crisis. This chapter highlights the critical importance of strong European democracies and ... More

The US engagement in the former Yugoslavia demonstrates the value of American leadership in an international crisis. This chapter highlights the critical importance of strong European democracies and NATO to American national security. It also emphasizes multilateral cooperation with key allies and international organizations as the best means to promote US security interests. Pardew draws from his crisis management experiences in the former Yugoslavia to present valuable lessons on the function of special envoys, activist diplomacy, the military role in humanitarian interventions, and the practical aspect of implementing a negotiated peace agreement.Less

Booker T. Washington Goes West

Marne L. Campbell

in Making Black Los Angeles: Class, Gender, and Community, 1850-1917

Finally, Chapter 6, “Mr.Washington Goes West,” examines the two visits by Booker T. Washington, first in 1903, and again in 1914 and investigates whether his national platform was something Black ... More

Finally, Chapter 6, “Mr.Washington Goes West,” examines the two visits by Booker T. Washington, first in 1903, and again in 1914 and investigates whether his national platform was something Black Angelenos wanted for their community, given the relative gains they made during the late 19th century. This chapter also considers the Washington’s relationship with the local leadership while drawing comparisons with Du Bois’s role in early Black Los Angeles history. This chapter also places the black experience in the West within the context of the national experience by considering the relationship of these two African American leaders with Black Angelenos.Less

Business Unionism and Rank-and-File Unionism at the Turn of the Millennium

Dana L. Cloud

in We Are the Union: Democratic Unionism and Dissent at Boeing

This chapter introduces the arguments of the book in the context of a summary of the critique of traditional American union leadership as pro-business and dangerously invested in partnerships with ... More

This chapter introduces the arguments of the book in the context of a summary of the critique of traditional American union leadership as pro-business and dangerously invested in partnerships with management. First, it chronicles the two waves of the American union movement, telling the story of the rise of democratic unionism with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and its subsequent decline in the postwar years. It then provides some examples from the 1990s and 2000s of instances in which conservative unions led workers to defeats, primarily because of the failure to prioritize rank-and-file action in favor of more administrative, legalistic, and consumer-oriented strategies. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the changing situation of labor today. It argues that that the story of the rise of the CIO provides an inspiring model of the birth of a fighting labor movement out of a period of fragmentation, exclusivity, and weakness in existing labor institutions. It further suggests that present conditions of economic crisis and the stirrings of a new militancy are ripe for a similar transformation.Less

Turning Point: American Leadership and the Balkans, 1995–2008

James W. Pardew

in Peacemakers: American Leadership and the End of Genocide in the Balkans

The breakup of Yugoslavia is a turning point in international relations with consequences far beyond the region. The US intervention in the former Yugoslavia reestablishes American leadership in ... More

The breakup of Yugoslavia is a turning point in international relations with consequences far beyond the region. The US intervention in the former Yugoslavia reestablishes American leadership in Europe. It revitalizes and reforms NATO and the EU and creates new relationships with the UN. The international effort in the former Yugoslavia creates seven new nations oriented toward Western values. Importantly, the US engagement creates an opportunity to replace ethnic conflict with democracy in the Balkans. While the US should remain engaged, success depends on the commitment of local leaders to change. Less

Higher Laws: The Fulcrum of African American National Identity

Mark A. Lause

in A Secret Society History of the Civil War

This chapter explores antebellum secret associations formed by black Americans. Even as European revolutionaries applied the standards of fraternalism to national purposes, similar organizations ... More

This chapter explores antebellum secret associations formed by black Americans. Even as European revolutionaries applied the standards of fraternalism to national purposes, similar organizations contributed directly to shaping black identity in America. In fact, black orders bore far greater resemblance to the European societies than most of those among white Americans. Context made black associations more overtly more political and made one fundamental labor reform unavoidable for an African American leadership described as bound in “the triple chord of Masonry, Church fellowship and Anti-Slavery association.” Most important, repressive conditions in America drove active resistance to slavery underground, making particularly relevant the accoutrements of fraternalism. As the explosive struggle over the extension of slavery into Kansas spurred radical activism among whites as well, the secret society tradition in America tapped ever more deeply into the experience of the African American—as well as European—associations.Less

The Banks and Their Shareholders

in Behind the Development Banks: Washington Politics, World Poverty, and the Wealth of Nations

This chapter summarizes the multilateral development banks' histories, governance, and financing, before arguing that the banks can be usefully conceptualized as resource-dependent organizations that ... More

This chapter summarizes the multilateral development banks' histories, governance, and financing, before arguing that the banks can be usefully conceptualized as resource-dependent organizations that serve an ambiguous array of purposes for donor governments. The United States is able to exert strong leadership of the banks. As the banks' leading and most ambivalent donor, the United States has often been able to function as an activist shareholder. Moreover, the division between management and the Executive Board, and the division on the Executive Board between major shareholder and borrowing governments are elaborated. The MDBs' management of external resource dependence resembles that of private corporations in a number of respects. The United States is uniquely positioned among major donors to behave as an activist shareholder. U.S. support for the banks is more insecure, a fact that improves American leadership.Less

Politics, Power, and Money

Sandro Galea

in The Contagion Next Time

This chapter investigates how politics and power shape health outcomes, with special emphasis on how these forces intersect with economic inequality and the disproportionate burden of sickness ... More

This chapter investigates how politics and power shape health outcomes, with special emphasis on how these forces intersect with economic inequality and the disproportionate burden of sickness experienced by low-income populations. During the spread of COVID-19, American political leadership faced a test of its ability to respond to sudden crisis. Rising to such a difficult occasion requires detailed plans for what to do in such a scenario, robust public health infrastructure, and leadership which takes decisive, data-informed action, listening to experts and communicating clearly and consistently with the public. Tragically, COVID-19 found the United States lacking in all these areas. Political leaders are in a position to mold public opinion, nudging the public mind towards new ways of thinking. The precise term for this is “shifting the Overton window.” By helping to mainstream a cavalier attitude towards COVID-19, the Trump administration shifted the Overton window towards greater acceptance of behaviors which create poorer health. The chapter then looks at the failure to adequately address race in the US. Among the factors that shape health, the area of race is particularly sensitive to political dynamics.Less