". . . a zesty debunking of some of the most dangerous foreign policy frauds of our era.”
—James Bovard, Author of Terrorism and Tyranny
OAKLAND, Calif., Sept. 21, 2007—Exporting democracy with military force has a dismal success rate. Nation-building efforts often produce truces with gangs and warlords as well as weak puppet governments that can give way to new dictatorships. Why then do such endeavors continue in Afghanistan and Iraq, with top U.S. officials now seeking to extend military operations to Iran?
In Opposing the Crusader State: Alternatives to Global Interventionism (October 2007 / The Independent Institute / $15.95), editors Senior Fellow Robert Higgs and Research Fellow Carl P. Close examine U.S. history and argue that the classical American policy of nonintervention and free trade remains crucial for peace and security.
For more than a century after the American Revolution, the noninterventionist tradition held sway. However, the last century has seen America embrace just the opposite. Now, U.S. foreign policy presupposes that American interests are best served by intervening abroad—whether to join security alliances, secure oil and other natural resources, find markets for U.S. exports, fight potential enemies on foreign shores, or engage in democratic “nation building.”
In Opposing the Crusader State, the contributors explore the relevance of non–interventionism and skillfully build a case for reestablishing such a policy.
In Part I, Joseph Stromberg surveys the dissonant relationship between war abroad and liberty at home while Ralph Raico and others discuss the American noninterventionist tradition. James Payne and Jerry Sweeney examine the lackluster record of U.S. and British nation-building in Part II. In Part III, Ted Galen Carpenter and Stephen Carson question the “democratic peace” theory behind “pre-emptive wars.” And in the final section, Edward Stringham and Erich Weede demonstrate how free trade promotes prosperity, security, and peace.
Not only has U.S. foreign intervention left a sorry legacy abroad, it has eroded American freedoms and security. In Opposing the Crusader State, Higgs and Close conclude that America should avoid foreign wars and instead seek peaceful relations and open commerce.
Praise for Opposing the Crusader State
". . . expert, thoughtful and articulate."
—Ambassador Edward L. Peck, Former Chief of Mission in Iraq
“Here in a nutshell is the best scholarship available on how our warrior governments went wrong and why their non-defensive wars have diminished, rather than enhanced, our freedoms.”
—Judge Andrew P. Napolitano, Senior Judicial Analyst, FOX News
"For those disillusioned by the American intervention in Iraq, the insightful book Opposing the Crusader State shows how the U.S. can protect its interests by embracing a more humble foreign policy.”
—Lawrence J. Korb, former Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Defense
Opposing the Crusader State: Alternatives to Global Interventionism
Edited by Robert Higgs and Carl P. Close
Published by The Independent Institute
October 2007 | Softcover | 291 pages | $15.95 | ISBN 1-59813-015-3
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