The Return of History and the End of Dreams 2008

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The Return of History and the End of Dreams

Hopes for a new peaceful international order after the end of the Cold War have been dashed by sobering realities: Great powers are once again competing for honor and influence. Nation-states remain as strong as ever, as do the old, explosive forces of ambitious nationalism. The world remains “unipolar,” but international competition among the United States, Russia, China, Europe, Japan, India, and Iran raise new threats of regional conflict. Communism is dead, but a new contest... (show more)

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John Rodrigues , 5 minutes ago

Though the present world system works best for democracies, post-Cold War economic growth has returned a rivalry of nationalists. In a little over 100 pages, the author presents the ambitions of Russia, China, Japan, India, and Iran and proposes a League of Democracies to complement the UN and NATO. (The intervening election and economic results may render this an alternate history.) Ideological determinism is an illusion. Former imperial nations seek a return to status or ‘thumos’ instinct in Greek. National honor and pride trump economic interests. “Power is the ability to get others to do what you want…”. Russia has biggest reserves of mineral resources; petroleum and coal, and affects European strategy, central Asian oil, and nuclear proliferation of Iran and N Korea. China seeks regional predominance and may realize either bi-lateral (East, West) or tri-monetary (dollars, euro, yuan) rebalance. ...

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