For might and right : Cold War defense spending and the remaking of American democracy / Michael Brenes.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-292) and index.

Cover -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Chapter One. Where the Global Meets the Parochial -- Chapter Two. The National Politics of International Stability -- Chapter Three. Vietnam and Antimilitarism in the 1960s -- Chapter Four. The Cold War Returns -- Chapter Five. War and Peace in the "Age of Inequality" -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Index -- Back Cover.

"How did the global Cold War influence American politics at home? For Might and Right traces the story of how Cold War defense spending remade participatory politics, producing a powerful and dynamic political coalition that reached across party lines. This "Cold War coalition" favored massive defense spending over social welfare programs, bringing together a diverse array of actors from across the nation, including defense workers, community boosters, military contractors, current and retired members of the armed services, activists, and politicians. Faced with neoliberal austerity and uncertainty surrounding America's foreign policy after the 1960s, increased military spending became a bipartisan solution to create jobs and stimulate economic growth, even in the absence of national security threats. Using a rich array of archival sources, Michael Brenes draws important connections between economic inequality and American militarism that enhance our understanding of the Cold War's continued impact on American democracy and the resilience of the military-industrial complex, up to the age of Donald Trump"-- Provided by publisher.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (JSTOR, viewed March 3, 2021).

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