No Higher Law: American Foreign Policy and the Western Hemisphere Since 1776

Dismantling the myths of United States isolationism and exceptionalism, No Higher Law is a sweeping history and analysis of American policy toward the Western Hemisphere and Latin America from independence to the present. From the nation's earliest days, argues Brian Loveman, U.S. leaders viewed and treated Latin America as a crucible in which to test foreign policy and from which to expand American global influence. Loveman demonstrates how the main doctrines and policies adopted for the Western Hemisphere were exported, with modifications, to other world regions as the United States pursued its self-defined global mission. No Higher Law reveals the interplay of domestic politics and international circumstances that shaped key American foreign policies from U.S. independence to the first decade of the twenty-first century. This revisionist view considers the impact of slavery, racism, ethnic cleansing against Native Americans, debates on immigration, trade and tariffs, the historical growth of the military-industrial complex, and political corruption as critical dimensions of American politics and foreign policy. Concluding with an epilogue on the Obama administration, Loveman weaves together the complex history of U.S. domestic politics and foreign policy to achieve a broader historical understanding of American expansionism, militarism, imperialism, and global ambitions as well as novel insights into the challenges facing American policymakers at the beginning of the twenty-first century.

About the Author :
Brian Loveman is professor emeritus of political science at San Diego State University and author or editor of more than twenty books on Latin American history and politics, inter-American relations, and U.S. foreign policy. In 2009 he received Chile's highest award given to noncitizens, the Condecoracion de la Orden al Merito de Chile, en el Grado de Gran Oficial.

Review :
No Higher Law is a comprehensive rewriting of U.S. history that shows in detail how domestic politics in the United States was--and remains--inextricably linked to territorial expansion, conquest, and militarism, and that the 'missing link' is U.S. relations with Latin America. A masterful narrative and sobering corrective to the notion that the United States was ever isolationist or that its latest wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were betrayals of its republican tradition.--Greg Grandin, New York University|""No Higher Law is a remarkably wide-ranging and provocative inquiry that illuminates the continuities in U.S. foreign policy in the Western Hemisphere. The book highlights the hubris and paternalism that has historically characterized how the United States deals with its southern neighbors. Loveman convincingly shows how difficult it is to satisfy the lofty rhetoric of partnership in light of U.S. domestic politics, entrenched interests, and a continuing belief in American exceptionalism. By reading this impressively sweeping treatment, today's policymakers would better understand Latin Americans' lingering suspicions of U.S. motives in the region.""--Michael Shifter, president, Inter-American Dialogue|""This sweeping and compelling narrative tells the story of how America's sense of its own exceptionalism and righteous superiority led it to wield its terrible swift sword across the Western Hemisphere, from the earliest days of the Republic to the first decade of the twenty-first century.""--William M. LeoGrande, American University