Abstract

For much of the twentieth century, the use of military force and intervention characterized American foreign policy; however, during the last several decades of the century, many political scientists turned their primary attention away from military security to the analysis of political economy. With the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, Francis Fukuyama (2006) wrote of the “end of history”—the victory of capitalism over fascism and communism. Despite the increasing importance of economic issues and globalization in U.S. foreign policy, military threats continued to concern American policy makers. And these threats assumed even greater importance as more states developed and tested nuclear weapons, the most destructive weapons ever invented.