Introduction

The United States of America is one of the most powerful countries in the world, maybe the most powerful of them. It was the first country to be called “hyperpower” (« hyperpuissance »), after the cold war and the end of the Soviet Union.
This power is not something totally new. For the historians, it appeared in the first quarter of the Nineteenth century. Indeed, one of the key dates is 1823: it was the year of the elaboration of the Monroe Doctrine, which established the idea that the American continent is the private preserve of the United States. However, the first real American thought was born at the end of this century. Paradoxically, one of the first thinkers was not a politician or a soldier, but the author of « Moby Dick », Herman Melville, who expressed the idea of an « American messianism ». Thereafter, other theories was developed: a few years after the publication of « Moby Dick » appeared the isolationist theory which culminated during the first half of the twentieth century.

The goal of this blog is to present, explain and clarify (in particular for the controversial theories) the views of some important thinkers of American Power. The political and economic context of the country increases their influence through some think tank, lobbies, governmental organisations (like the « Council on Foreign Relation ») and even the government itself. We will try to understand how they see the American Power and what goals they give it. We will study their influence on the decision-makers, and in particular in the White House cabinet.