World Order“Dazzling and instructive . . . [a] magisterial new book.” —Walter Isaacson, Time "An astute analysis that illuminates many of today's critical international issues." —Kirkus Reviews Henry Kissinger offers in World Order a deep meditation on the roots of international harmony and global disorder. Drawing on his experience as one of the foremost statesmen of the modern era—advising presidents, traveling the world, observing and shaping the central foreign policy events of recent decades—Kissinger now reveals his analysis of the ultimate challenge for the twenty-first century: how to build a shared international order in a world of divergent historical perspectives, violent conflict, proliferating technology, and ideological extremism. There has never been a true “world order,” Kissinger observes. For most of history, civilizations defined their own concepts of order. Each considered itself the center of the world and envisioned its distinct principles as universally relevant. China conceived of a global cultural hierarchy with the emperor at its pinnacle. In Europe, Rome imagined itself surrounded by barbarians; when Rome fragmented, European peoples refined a concept of an equilibrium of sovereign states and sought to export it across the world. Islam, in its early centuries, considered itself the world’s sole legitimate political unit, destined to expand indefinitely until the world was brought into harmony by religious principles. The United States was born of a conviction about the universal applicability of democracy—a conviction that has guided its policies ever since. Now international affairs take place on a global basis, and these historical concepts of world order are meeting. Every region participates in questions of high policy in every other, often instantaneously. Yet there is no consensus among the major actors about the rules and limits guiding this process or its ultimate destination. The result is mounting tension. Grounded in Kissinger’s deep study of history and his experience as national security advisor and secretary of state, World Order guides readers through crucial episodes in recent world history. Kissinger offers a unique glimpse into the inner deliberations of the Nixon administration’s negotiations with Hanoi over the end of the Vietnam War, as well as Ronald Reagan’s tense debates with Soviet Premier Gorbachev in Reykjavík. He offers compelling insights into the future of U.S.–China relations and the evolution of the European Union, and he examines lessons of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Taking readers from his analysis of nuclear negotiations with Iran through the West’s response to the Arab Spring and tensions with Russia over Ukraine, World Order anchors Kissinger’s historical analysis in the decisive events of our time. Provocative and articulate, blending historical insight with geopolitical prognostication, World Order is a unique work that could come only from a lifelong policy maker and diplomat. Kissinger is also the author of On China. |
Contents
The Question of World Order | 1 |
What | 41 |
The Russian Enigma 49 The Congress of Vienna 59 The Premises | 91 |
The Sick Man of Europe | 109 |
Revolutionary TideTwo Philosophical Interpretations 118 The Arab Spring | 142 |
The Tradition of Iranian Statecraft 149 The Khomeini | 159 |
The Multiplicity of Asia | 172 |
India 192 What Is an Asian Regional Order? | 208 |
America as a World | 256 |
Franklin Roosevelt and the New World Order | 269 |
The Beginning of the Cold War 280 Strategies of a Cold War Order 283 | 283 |
The Korean War 288 Vietnam and the Breakdown of the National | 302 |
The Beginning of Renewal 308 Ronald Reagan and the End of | 327 |
World Order in the Nuclear Age 331 The Challenge of Nuclear | 354 |
The Evolution of International Order 365 Where Do We Go from Here? | 371 |
405 | |
Asias International Order and China 213 China and World Order 221 | 221 |
Acting for All Mankind The United States | 234 |
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achieve adversary Afghanistan al-Qaeda alliance allies American Arab Arthashastra Asia Asian Austria balance of power Britain British century challenge China Chinese civil Cold War Communist concept of world conflict Congress of Vienna countries cultural decades democracy democratic diplomacy diplomatic doctrine domestic dominant economic emerging Emperor Empire equilibrium established Europe Europe's European order expansion forces foreign policy France French geopolitical Germany global human India international order Iran Iran's Iranian Iraq Islamic Israel Japan jihadist Kautilya Korea leaders legitimacy major powers Middle East military modern moral Muslim Napoleon national interest negotiations Nixon North Korea nuclear weapons Ottoman Ottoman Empire peace Peace of Westphalia political President principles regional order religious Revolution revolutionary role Roosevelt rule ruler Russia Saudi Arabia society sovereign Soviet Union Stalin strategic Syria territory tion traditional Treaty United University Press upheavals vision wars West Western Westphalian Westphalian system Wilson world order York