Thinking History, Fighting Evil

Neoconservatives and the Perils of Analogy in American Politics

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science, Politics, History & Theory
Cover of the book Thinking History, Fighting Evil by David B. MacDonald, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: David B. MacDonald ISBN: 9781461634515
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: May 16, 2009
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: David B. MacDonald
ISBN: 9781461634515
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: May 16, 2009
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

Thinking History, Fighting Evil presents the most thorough exploration to date of how World War II analogies, particularly those focused on the Holocaust, have colored American foreign policy-making after 9/11. In particular, this book highlights how influential neoconservatives inside and outside the Bush administration used analogies of the 'Good War' to reinterpret domestic and international events, often with disastrous consequences. On the surface, World War II promotes a simple but compelling range of images and symbols: valiant Roosevelts and Churchills, appeasing Chamberlains, evil Hitlers, Jewish victims, European bystanders, and American liberators. However, the simplistic use of analogies was precisely what doomed the neoconservative project to failure. This book explores the misuse of ten key analogies arising from World War II and charts their problematic deployment after the 9/11 attacks. Divided into eight chapters, Thinking History, Fighting Evil engages with timely issues such as the moral legacies of the civil rights era, identity politics movements, the representation of the Holocaust in American life, the rise of victim politics on the neoconservative right, the instrumentalization of anti-American and anti-Semitic discourses, the trans-Atlantic rift between Europe and the United States, and the war on terror. While the book focuses on the post-9/11 security environment, it also explores the history of negative exceptionalism in U.S. history and politics, tracing back Manichean conceptions of good and evil to the foundation of the early colonies.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Thinking History, Fighting Evil presents the most thorough exploration to date of how World War II analogies, particularly those focused on the Holocaust, have colored American foreign policy-making after 9/11. In particular, this book highlights how influential neoconservatives inside and outside the Bush administration used analogies of the 'Good War' to reinterpret domestic and international events, often with disastrous consequences. On the surface, World War II promotes a simple but compelling range of images and symbols: valiant Roosevelts and Churchills, appeasing Chamberlains, evil Hitlers, Jewish victims, European bystanders, and American liberators. However, the simplistic use of analogies was precisely what doomed the neoconservative project to failure. This book explores the misuse of ten key analogies arising from World War II and charts their problematic deployment after the 9/11 attacks. Divided into eight chapters, Thinking History, Fighting Evil engages with timely issues such as the moral legacies of the civil rights era, identity politics movements, the representation of the Holocaust in American life, the rise of victim politics on the neoconservative right, the instrumentalization of anti-American and anti-Semitic discourses, the trans-Atlantic rift between Europe and the United States, and the war on terror. While the book focuses on the post-9/11 security environment, it also explores the history of negative exceptionalism in U.S. history and politics, tracing back Manichean conceptions of good and evil to the foundation of the early colonies.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book Methodological Problems with the Academic Sources of Popular Psychology by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Postphenomenology and Media by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Cosmos and the Rhetoric of Popular Science by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Ending Racial Preferences by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Reconciling and Rehumanizing Indigenous–Settler Relations by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book The Political Blame Game in American Democracy by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Ontic Ethics by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book The Cavalier Presidency by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Confronting Disaster by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Mosh the Polls by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book North Korean Foreign Policy by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Language Rights and the Law in the United States and Its Territories by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Medical Outcasts by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Liberty and Liberticide by David B. MacDonald
Cover of the book Examining Millennials Reshaping Organizational Cultures by David B. MacDonald
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy