ISBN
978-88-6740-495-7
Published
2015
Price
€20,00
Pages
482

Having as pivot the domestic and the foreign U.S. policy, the book is a history of our time, mostly of what happened in 2013 and 2014, including the big crisis, from the war in Ukraine (of which it offers a global report) to the conflict with the jihadist group ISIS. It is a fresh survey of U.S. politics, and because of that it is a unique input for the way it unites historical outlook and geopolitical current events.The book gets in the gears of U.S. politics. It tells the transformation of the United States in a social-democracy with large welfare and entitlements. It deals with the issues relevant to immigration;  the scope of the war against terrorism; the cyber threats. The topic of the book is not only politics. It pictures the uneven and confused, marked by disillusion, today’s America’s society.
 
A large part of the book concerns foreign policy. The choices of Putin’s Russia, imprinted by an historical pride; the power leverage in the Asia-Pacific region, and the tensions in the China seas; the policy of appeasement of the Obama government towards Iran, with the pass granted to the Iranian regime; the Middle East conflicts and Israel’s resilience; and also some shortcomings of the European Union, are among the subjects of the book. While defending Obama’s choices of prudence in foreign affairs, the book questions the adequacy of Obama’s ecumenism.
 
To look into myth and reality of U.S. politics means to set focus on the topic of America’s  role in the world. The book overturns the mainstream notions in Italy with regard  to Obama’s presidency. Obama is an icon of Europe’s left, and this has helped to overcome some misleading divisions. But in America Obama was a very partisan president and also a president who on decisive issues fell short of governance.
 
Always authoritative and documented, with a vibrant, sometimes fascinating narrative, with wide-ranging horizons, the book offers in a striking manner a point of view far away from commonplaces and biases. Meanwhile, following the global reach and the significance of the events, the book features the outlines of a glamorous, discontinuous and real America.

Politics

Sequenza A                    La crisi della presidenza Obama
 
Parte Uno                       L’economia e la politica nel 2013

  1. Il blocco
  2. Socialdemocrazia USA
  3. I fatti sono cose ostinate
  4. Il punto più basso: shutdown e limite al debito
  5. Scandali veri e falsi
  6. Il Grand Old Party
  7. Colpo di mano in Senato

 Parte Due                      La società

  1. Giustizia e vendita delle armi
  2. Riforma dell’immigrazione
  3. Sanità
  4. Commercio, ambiente ed energia

 Parte Tre                       La difesa

  1. Tagliare la Difesa
  2. Air Force
  3. Terrorismo
  4. Cyber

 Parte Quattro                 La politica estera fino al 2013

  1. Contraddizioni
  2. Berlino e Russia
  3. La via di Damasco
  4. Afghanistan
  5. Iran
  6. La regione Asia-Pacifico e la Cina
  7. Medio Oriente e Israele

  Intermezzo europeo
 
Sequenza B                   Ancora deriva, e forse rinascita
  
Parte Uno                      La politica interna nel 2014

  1. Casa Bianca in vendita
  2. Welfare ad ogni costo
  3. Governo: molti rinvii, qualche caduta
  4. Le tempeste dell’estate 2014

 Parte Due                     La politica estera nel 2014

  1. Turbamenti
  2. Russia, Ucraina e Crimea
  3. La questione irachena e la questione ISIS
  4. La soluzione afghana
  5. Fallimento in Iran
  6. Chiarezza morale verso Israele
  7. Ucraina, il Donbass in fiamme

 Epilogo                         Verso un cambiamento

  1. Sobrietà
  2. Midterm e costanza