I don't often write a review of a review or of a blog post
based on an upcoming book, but I’m going to make an exception. Both Henry
Kissinger and Francis Fukuyama have books coming out in September, and both
will come to the top of my “to read” list.
For many, including me, the name of Henry Kissinger conjures
up a lot of contrary thoughts and ambiguity. Some think of him as amoral,
others as immoral, and still others as the devil incarnate. Of course, he’s
also a Nobel Peace Prize winner, so go figure. Without question, his tenure as
National Security Advisor and later as Secretary of State in the Nixon and Ford
Administrations provides plenty of reasons to question his judgment, not to
mention the morality of his actions. But set aside that period of this life and
consider the role that he played both before and after his time in office: that
of historian and theoretician to international relations. (With Kissinger, the
roles of historian and theoretician don’t seem at all separated, which I
believe makes his work all the more compelling and insightful.) I first read
Kissinger as an undergraduate when Professor David Schoenbaum assigned A
World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace 1812-1822
for his 19th Century Europe class. That book is a study of the Congress of
Vienna and the effort led by Prince Metternich to establish a stable political
order in Europe following the French Revolution and Napoleonic wars. Later, on
my own, I read a large chunk of his memoir of the Nixon Administration, a large
chunk of his book Diplomacy (quite
intriguing), and the entirety of this On China, which I found informative and fascinating (and which I’ve now got on deck to read
again). As a scholar, Kissinger writes well and he has terrific insights. Thus
I’m I ready—eager—to set aside doubts arising from my uncertainty about his
actions as a statesman to appreciate his scholarship. (Great figures, whether
judged good or ill, are rarely simple and never unalloyed.) Now past 90 years
of age, he still garners respect. (Just look at his 90th birthday party list
from 2013: the Clintons, John Kerry, Valery Giscard D’Estaing, Donald Rumsfeld,
James Baker, George Shultz, and John McCain. None were political allies of
Kissinger, but all came, I assume, came out of a sense of respect.)
A preview
review of the book by Jacob Heilbrunn in the National Interest praises Kissinger’s upcoming World
Order. According to Heilbrunn, Kissinger argues that the nation-state
system of balance of power and interest politics established by the Treaty of
Westphalia (1648) remains relevant in the contemporary world. Kissinger is a
master of this area of history (see his work Diplomacy for an existing example). In an era where China is on the
rise and playing a larger role on the world stage; Russia remains an
assertive—even aggressive—player; and the U.S., Japan, and Europe, all have
significant and varying interests and roles to play, Kissinger’s insights will
bear close consideration. Heilbrunn praises Kissinger for his lucid and
incisive prose, and his use of diplomatic history, now often shunted aside in
the study of IR (international relations). Along with examining the structures
of international relations through the centuries, Kissinger also notes the
importance of individuals, from Cardinal Richelieu to Metternich to Teddy
Roosevelt, who ushered the U.S. on to the world stage. Of course, Woodrow
Wilson and Richard Nixon receive consideration as two presidents who highlight
the U.S. tension between idealism and realism in American foreign affairs.
(Aside: Heilbrunn reports that Kissinger admires Nixon and offers the opinion
that “Nixon’s solitary nature meant that he had read widely, a trait that
Kissinger avers made him the best-prepared incoming president since TR on
foreign policy.” Interesting angle.)
The review essay is worth reading as a summary of what
Kissinger has written and it provides a good summary of the history of his
influence, especially within the context of the Republican Party.
The other short piece that I read was by Francis Fukuyama.
He had a new
blog entry after about a year and an essay
in Foreign Affairs, both based on parts of this forth coming Political
Order and Political Decay: From the Industrial Revolution to the Globalization
of Democracy that will come out at the end of September. I’m embarrassed to
report that I haven’t read volume one (encouragement from the Glamorous Nomad
notwithstanding), but I plan to dive right into volume 2. His Foreign Affairs essay on the decline of
American political institutions is insightful (and depressing). His updating of
his mentor Samuel Huntington on political society will certainly prove thought
provoking. I find Fukuyama one of the most insightful political commentators
writing today. Like Kissinger, he comes out of the academy, but he's worked for
the State Department and Rand Corporation, so he’s been in a position to
influence events as well as write about them from the outside. Also, like
Kissinger, he draws freely and extensively upon history in his analysis.
History is the ultimate laboratory for social science experiments, and it
provides much greater insight than modeling and theorizing can provide on their
own.
I’m looking forward to both of these books, and it’s great
to have these previews to guide my way into them. Like a good movie trailer,
they make me want to take in the whole feature. Get out the popcorn! (Well, no,
too greasy on the pages—even electronic pages.)
