Globalization and the American Century

Using globalization as a unifying theme, Eckes and Zeiler offer a bold new approach to American history and diplomacy in the twentieth century. The American Century of global leadership, they show, resulted both from innovations and ideas. Revolutionary improvements in technology (especially satellite communications and jet transportation) combined with the leadership elite’s enthusiasm for de-regulation of markets and free trade to fuel American-style globalization. Zeiler and Eckes show this formula helped the nation rise to economic power after the Spanish-American War, and win both world wars and the Cold War. In the decade after the end of the Cold War, America’s power and cultural influence soared as business and financial interests pursued the long-term quest for global markets. But the tragic events of September 2001 and the growing volatility of global finance raised questions about whether the era of American-led globalization was sustainable, or vulnerable to catastrophic collapse.