Ikenberry (Liberal Order and Imperial Ambition
) frames the central debate that structures this slim collection of four scholarly essays when he asks, if “Bush is the heir of Woodrow Wilson,” if the Iraq War in particular grew out of Wilsonianism and to what extent liberals “share the blame.” His provocative thesis surveys the evolution of liberal internationalism and dovetails with the historical essay by Knock (To End All Wars
) that follows, drawing a distinction between Wilsonianism and successive foreign policies, including “Cold War Globalism” and the policies of the Bush administration. The most heated argument in the text comes in the final two essays by Smith (A Pact with the Devil
) and Slaughter (A New World Order
). Smith argues that the Bush doctrine can, in fact, be labeled Wilsonian and that it issued from a “cross-fertilization” of ideas between neoconservatives and neoliberals, including Slaughter herself. Slaughter rebuts this version of events and articulates how Wilsonianism can create a foundation for 21st-century foreign policy. Collectively, the authors present a variety of arguments in a narrow academic debate with far-reaching implications. (Jan.)
