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Author
Date
2018Type
- Doctoral Thesis
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
For almost seven decades, the government of the United States has been pursuing preeminent military power relative to all other states within the international system. This dissertation investigates why American leaders sought such capabilities. My argument is that certain structural characteristics of the American polity, of the international system, and of military technology produced strong incentives for US leaders to favor military primacy. I propose that the democratic and capitalist nature of the American political system, the relative size and productivity of the US economy, the anarchic nature of international affairs, and the emergence of nuclear weapons and modern military machinery are the structural features which push US leaders towards acquiring preeminent force. Empirically, I offer robust evidence that, both at the beginning and at the end of the Cold War, my mechanism played a pivotal role in creating the material constraints that defined US leaders’ choices. My evaluation of the decision-making processes within both the Harry S. Truman and the George H. W. Bush Administrations is primarily based upon thousands of declassified archival sources. Show more
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https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000314832Publication status
publishedExternal links
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Publisher
ETH ZurichOrganisational unit
03515 - Wenger, Andreas / Wenger, Andreas
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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