Mosler and Catley show Australia as migrant Americans see it, warts and all They begin with an examination of the evolution of the United States as a major dominant power in the international system, emphasizing the duality of its external power coupled with its troubled and variegated society--the greatest wealth coexisting with some of the world's most difficult cities. But, as they point out, very few people emigrate from this melting pot, and many of those that do leave go to Australia. They are seeking employment, adventure, and, for some, a refuge from the difficult aspects of...

From its very inception Australia has been a derivative society: First as part of the British Empire and then, soon after World War II, what Mosler considers the American Empire and the new end-of-century Americanized global culture. This has meant that Australia has struggled to attain its own identity. Mosler explores that struggle for national independence, a struggle that seems to be doomed to failure.

According to Mosler, the reasons for this failure lie in Australia's propensity to remain a recreational culture; a culture more attuned to pleasure and dependence than regimented...

Mosler and Catley examine the rise of the United States to the status of a great power by the beginning of the 20th century, its maturation as a superpower during the co-dominion of the Cold War, and its emergence as a hegemonic power after the collapse of the Soviet Union. As a hegemon it has pursued the globalization of a liberal world order.

The key institutions and characteristics of the United States which enable it to become a hegemonic power, are examined as indicators of its likely behavior as a dominant power in the 21st century. The evolution of the liberal international...