US Hegemony and International Organizations: The United States and Multilateral Institutions

Extract

US Hegemony and International Organizations: The United States and Multilateral Institutions. Edited by Rosemary Foot, S. Neil MacFarlane, and Michael Mastanduno. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. 312p. $74.00 cloth, $24.95 paper.

This important and timely work has the potential to disturb those who feel they already understand the conditions, character, and consequences of U.S. hegemony with respect to the way in which this position of power shapes U.S. efforts at establishing, maintaining, transforming, and terminating multilateral institutions. For people who view the United States as a champion or villain in its relations with international organizations, this work is likely to be irritating and upsetting; and for those who are less certain or dogmatic, this collection of studies is an excellent introduction to the subject because the work includes detailed, empirical case studies on a wide range of issues. Regardless of one's alignment or identification with these groups, this finely edited volume is illuminating, and its high quality makes it relevant to scholars, decision makers, and interested members of the public. Support for this recommendation is found in the careful scholarship that runs throughout and in the firsthand experience of many of the authors with the topics and controversies they analyze and present. Given the international audience to which this study is directed, the work's overall credibility is probably enhanced by the fact that many of the authors are not Americans.