The Global Gamble: Washington’s Faustian Bid for World Dominance - Tapa dura

Argues that, since the collapse of the USSR, the US government has been trying to bring about a unipolar world in which the United States can control and shape the pattern of economic and political change in all regions of the globe. The text explores the origins and distinctive forms of Washington's imperial project, from the collapse of the Soviet bloc through to the Gulf War of 1991, developments in the European Union, the enlargement of NATO and East Asian financial collapse. It also examines the efforts of various neo-liberal intellectuals to legitimate the American project in terms of liberalism. The text concludes that the United States will fail in its project and the world could face catastrophe as a result.

Peter Gowan (1946-2009) taught international relations for many years at London Metropolitan University. He was the author of "The Global Gamble" and "A Calculus of Power," co-editor of "The Question of Europe," cofounder of the journal "Labour Focus on Eastern Europe," and a longstanding member of the editorial board of "New Left Review"--who published an interview with Peter Gowan along with an obituary in Sept-Oct 2009.