How and why did the United States get involved in nation-building overseas, and how have these policies evolved? How has Washington understood the relationship between development abroad and security at home, and how has this translated into policy? What is the relationship between security, order and development in nation-building and stabilisation efforts? This book explores the processes through which nation-building approaches originated and developed over the last seven decades as well as the concepts and motivations that shaped them.

Weaving together International Relations theory and a rich history drawing mainly on declassified documents, interviews and other primary sources, this book contributes to theoretical discussions of nation-building while offering a critique of Realist and Critical Security School analyses of US policy in the developing world. Ultimately, the book illuminates lessons relevant to todays nation-building, crisis management, stability, 'good governance' and reconstruction missions.

1 Introduction
2 Toward a 'tolerable state of order'
3 Creating a 'climate of victory': Eisenhower and the Overseas Internal Security Program
4 The aid war and reassessment
5 Kennedy, Johnson and the USOIDP: theory and practice
6 Conclusion: toward a tolerable state of order?
Bibliography