Marketing the American Creed Abroad: Diasporas in the U.S. and their Homelands / Edition 1

by Yossi Shain

Overview

This book examines the interaction of domestic and foreign issues in the lives of ethnic Americans. Arguing that the damaging impact of ethnic influences on U.S. foreign affairs has been overstated and misrepresented, Shain brings a new dimension to the public debate on multiculturalism by exploring its transnational aspects. Ethnic groups, despite residual attachments to their homelands, do not betray American political values and ideals, but, on the contrary, their involvement in homeland related affairs has been instrumental in their dissemination inside and outside the U.S.. Shain evaluates ethnic groups in the U.S. from a broad theoretical and comparative perspective, and his case studies include, among others, Arab-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and African-Americans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521645317
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/28/1999
Series:	Studies in Comparative Politics
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	314
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.71(d)

Table of Contents

1. US diasporas in the era of transnationalism; 2. US ethnic diasporas in the struggle for democracy and self-determination; 3. Arab-American identity and new transnational challenges; 4. Transnational influences on ethnoracial relations in the US: the case of Black/Jewish disputes; 5. 'Go but do not forget me': Mexico, the Mexican diaspora and US-Mexican relations; 6. Conclusion: diasporas and the American national interest.

Editorial Reviews

"...Shain makes a major contribution to the debate on rethinking US national interest. Though emerging from political science, this book will impact scholars in many disciplines along with analysts and media intellectuals. Essential for all college and university libraries." Choice

"The end of the Cold War has coincided with the rise of multiculturalism in such a fashion that the influence of ethnic groups on the conduct of US foreign policy has become more pronounced and more legitimate than ever in the past. Shain's book is the first attempt to analyze at length what these changes mean for American foreign and domestic politics today and for world affairs in general. His clear and comprehensive survey, and the conclusions he draws from it, are sure to invite lively discussion and debate." Tony Smith, Tufts University

"Today concerns are growing about the greater diversity brought by recent immigrants and their ongoing close ties to their homelands. Yossi Shain provides an important argument that, from the standpoint of foreign policy, America still chooses best when it chooses to be inclusive." Rogers M. Smith, Yale University

"Yossi Shain boldly challenges the view that ethnic diversity and the growth of transnational ties are threats to the coherence of US foreign policy. Instead he shows that the values of freedom and pluralism are often diffused back into migrants' homelands. This is both a reassuring and unconventional finding which will create controversy and intense debate by political scientists, commentators and policy-makers." Robin Cohen, University of Warwick

"This is an extremely interesting, thorough, and important book. The book will be a key source and resource for students of these issues, and, because of the broad and important set of themes included, it stands as an important contribution to our understanding of diaspora politics." Diaspora

"...this book is a substantive contribution to the transnational study of diasporas." Journal of American Ethnic History

"This is a rosy and provocative thesis." Political Science Quarterly

"noteworthy book...[an] important contribution to the rapidly growing literature on diaspora politics." American Journal of Sociology

"...Recounts the historical impact of immigrant communities on U.S. foreign policy, trouncing the proposition that ethnic lobbyying on behalf of homeland causes has been somehow disloyal to the American national interest. Shain also persuasively traces the mostly laudatory work of establish U.S. diaspora communities, especially those from Eastern Europe,in bolstering transitional homeland democracies." Peter Spiro, International Migration Review

From the Publisher