Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Preface
- Acronyms
- Executive Summary
- Acknowledgments
- PART I NATIONAL SECURITY IN THE NEW AGE
- 1 A World Wounded
- 2 Long-Term Economic Realism
- PART II AMERICAN PUBLIC CULTURE AND THE WORLD
- PART III AMERICAN PUBLIC CULTURE AND OURSELVES
- PART IV THE RECONFIGURATION OF NATIONAL WEALTH AND POWER
- PART V VORTEXES OF DANGER
- PART VI THE AMERICAN RESPONSE
- PART VII LEADING TOWARD PEACE
- PART VIII AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP
- Notes
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
1 - A World Wounded
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of Tables and Figures
- Preface
- Acronyms
- Executive Summary
- Acknowledgments
- PART I NATIONAL SECURITY IN THE NEW AGE
- 1 A World Wounded
- 2 Long-Term Economic Realism
- PART II AMERICAN PUBLIC CULTURE AND THE WORLD
- PART III AMERICAN PUBLIC CULTURE AND OURSELVES
- PART IV THE RECONFIGURATION OF NATIONAL WEALTH AND POWER
- PART V VORTEXES OF DANGER
- PART VI THE AMERICAN RESPONSE
- PART VII LEADING TOWARD PEACE
- PART VIII AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL LEADERSHIP
- Notes
- Glossary
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
I speak of peace while covert enmity under the smile of safety wounds the world.
Shakespeare, Henry IV, part 2, lines 9–10.THE POST–COLD WAR SECURITY ENVIRONMENT
For a brief moment, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, it seemed that the great powers had agreed on a desired outcome: a world characterized by democratic free enterprise with social justice. And it appeared to follow that this new world order could be speedily achieved by liberalization and disarmament. The objective remains, but the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, Russia's failed transition to democratic free enterprise, China's military modernization and internal political repression, the persistence of hidden agendas among the great powers that cripples the United Nations and the specter of accelerated nuclear proliferation have undermined the high hopes. The new situation has raised the possibility that the United States will explore the possibility of a very different path to its long run objectives – that is, a different short- and middle-term defense strategy. The different path includes the willingness to fight conventional wars and preemptive attacks. This is a very different agenda than liberalization and disarmament. This change has generated much controversy because many prefer trying to build the new world with the previous methods. Such a preference remains a tenable position insofar as it is based on an objective assessment of the risks, but too often the preference is dogmatic, raising serious problems for responsible leaders.
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- Masters of IllusionAmerican Leadership in the Media Age, pp. 3 - 17Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2006