America's mission : the United States and the worldwide struggle for democracy / Tony Smith.

"A Century Foundation book."

Includes bibliographical references (pages 469-494) and index.

The United States and the global struggle for democracy -- Part I: Liberal democratic internationalism and American foreign policy, 1898-1921. Democracy in the Philippines ; Wilson and democracy in Latin America ; Wilson and a world safe for democracy -- Part II: Liberal democratic internationalism, 1933-1947. FDR and world order : globalizing the Monroe Doctrine ; Democratizing Japan and Germany -- Part III: Liberal democratic internationalism and the Cold War, 1947-1977. Eisenhower and his legacy, 1953-1977 ; Kennedy's Alliance for Progress, 1961-1965 -- Part IV: Liberal democratic internationalism and the Cold War, 1977-1989. Carter's human rights campaign ; Reagan's democratic revolution -- Part V: Liberal internationalism after the Cold War. 1989-2012. After the Cold War : Wilsonianism resurgent? ; From "fortunate vagueness" to "democratic globalism," 1989-2008 ; Liberal internationalism from George W. Bush to Barack Obama -- Epilogue: The irony of American liberal internationalism -- Appendix: Notes on the study of the international origins of democracy.

America's Mission argues that the global strength and prestige of democracy today are due in large part to America's impact on international affairs. Tony Smith documents the extraordinary history of how American foreign policy has been used to try to promote democracy worldwide, an effort that enjoyed its greatest triumphs in the occupations of Japan and Germany but suffered huge setbacks in Latin America, Vietnam, and elsewhere. With new chapters and a new introduction and epilogue, this expanded edition also traces U.S. attempts to spread democracy more recently, under presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama, and assesses America's role in the Arab Spring.