Ebook: Enemy Images In American History

How do enemy images develop? How do they influence societies as well as the domestic and foreign policies of a political community or nation state? Are there national peculiarities with regard to the sources and uses of enemy images? These questions were bundled under the topic “Enemy Images in American History” and discussed by eighty historians at the Annual Conference of the Historians in the German Association of American Studies
which met at the Akademie für Politische Bildung, Tutzing (Germany) in February 1994. Most of the contributions came from historians and concentrated on the historical experience of the United States, with David Kennedy presenting a most remarkable synthesis in his keynote speech. In addition, there were important and thought-provoking papers from the neighboring fields—from political science (Kurt R. Spillmann, Zurich), psychology (Kati Spillmann, Zurich), sociology (Ulrich Beck, Munich), and American studies (Berndt Ostendorf, Munich). This volume presents the revised versions of all the papers. Both well-known and younger scholars endeavored to meet the challenge of the topic, a challenge that led all participants deeply into the fields of individual and social psychology, social and political history, as well as international history. The editors want to thank all the participants of the conference for their lively contributions which helped to make the endeavor a success. We also wish to express our gratitude to Professor Jürgen Heideking and Professor Gustav Schmidt, who provided the necessary support for planning and organizing the conference as well as the publication of this volume. Additional support came from our colleagues and the staff at the Institute of Anglo-American History, Cologne University, and the Institute of International Politics of the Ruhr-University at Bochum, especially from Sigrid Schneider and Elisabeth Lebert. Our editor Marion Berghahn and her team at Berghahn Books, above all Janine Treves and Shawn Kendrick, have proven to be extremely competent, patient, and understanding. Last, but not least, our thanks go to our hosts, the former director of the Akademie für Politische Bildung at Tutzing, Professor Manfred Hättich, his team, and especially Klaus Grosch, who supported us with most valuable suggestions and concrete arrangements in every respect, and who excelled in their hospitality during the conference. One could not ask for a more inspiring environment than this extraordinary institution on the shores of Lake Starnberg south of Munich. The volume itself does not pretend to give a final answer to the question of enemy images in American history. There are many important subjects that could not be covered. The book is meant rather as an encouragement to further interdisciplinary studies in a field where intense cooperation among psychologists, sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, experts in cultural studies, and historians seems to be extremely rewarding.