The Liberal Moment: Modernity, Security, and the Making of Postwar International Order, by Robert Latham

A great deal of this book would not have been possible without the help of Aristide Zolberg and Ira Katznelson. Through them both I learned to appreciate the many advantages of joining history, social theory, and normative concerns in a single intellectual framework. They inspired me to keep my eye on the big picture even while I toiled among the details.

This book has its origins in a dissertation completed at the Graduate Faculty of the New School for Social Research. Material for chapter three appeared in an earlier version in an article titled "LiberalismÕs Order / LiberalismÕs Other: A Genealogy of Threat," in Alternatives Vol 20, No. 1 (JanÐMarch 1995). A very small portion of chapter four appeared in an article titled "Democracy and War-Making: Locating the International Liberal Context," in Millennium Vol 22, No. 2 (Summer 1993). Many colleagues and friends at the New School have read and commented on parts of this study. Some of these fellow travelers include Kim Geiger, Andy Grossman, Andrew Schliewitz, and Michelle Stoddard. I would especially like to thank Orin Kirshner and Cathy OÕLeary. At different times over the years they both shared an office with me. As a result, they suffered through countlessly aired doubts, and yet remained willing to offer generously their advice.

I would also like to thank the citizens of the Center for the Study of Social Change at the New School. They offered me the opportunity to present portions of this project in their regular seminar on State Formation and Collective Action. Charles Tilly inspired me to organize my thoughts and sharpen my arguments in innumerable ways. Roy Licklider and Jeff Goodwin provided wise counsel at decisive moments. Michael Hogan offered helpful comments on significant parts of this study. His superb work on crucial aspects of the "liberal moment" has been a great inspiration to me. I have also greatly benefited from the excellent counseling of Lee Sigal, Steve Smith, and R.B.J. Walker.

Financial support for some of the research upon which this book is based was provided by the Harry S. Truman Library. The New School for Social Research helped financially in countless ways. I also benefited from financial support from the MacArthur Foundation through the program on "The Domestic Consequences of Global Leadership and Their Implications for American Democracy" that it funded at the New School. And the Social Science Research Council, recognizing that one needs to be an active scholar to help organize scholarship, offered time and modest professional development funds to help this project along. David Featherman and Kenneth Prewitt as presidents of the Council were always mindful of the connections between active scholarship and effective organization and administration. The Committee of International Peace and Security with whom I have worked at the SSRC, especially under the leadership of Lawrence Freedman, provided a superb model for combining intellectual integrity with creativity. And I especially appreciate the help of Steve Heydemann, who has been a challenging and thoughtful colleague in matters intellectual and administrative.