On Being A Superpower: And Not Knowing What To Do About It [Hardcover]

Seymour J Deitchman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 31, 1999

As the sole remaining superpower, shouldn't the United States be able to call the tune on establishing a secure world to our liking? While most international strategists conjure up history and theory of international relations from the past to examine such a question, Sy Deitchman, in On Being a Superpower, focuses on today's changing conditions and attitudes. He starts by addressing hypothetical situations that keep US international security experts awake at night. What would the United States do, he asks, if, in Saudi Arabia, an armed rebellion by Islamic fundamentalists were about to topple the House of Saud while demanding that the US get out of the Middle East? Would the United States go to war to try stop China's invasion of a democratic Taiwan that declares its independence? Could the US really win such a war against a determined country that has over a billion people and nuclear weapons? If a Central American drug cartel gained de facto control of the Panama canal and turned it into a smuggling lynchpin, what would the United States do?Deitchman examines these and other scenarios and then pictures how the US would likely respond, based on our society's current moral concerns, political rhetoric, and overall world view. After reviewing the challenges the world will present to us and examining the current state of our nation and its armed forces, Deitchman describes the strategy for preserving US security that appears to be emerging without explicit planning. He shows how trends in the armed forces parallel the trends in society, and how our argumentative political system is affecting our ability to build and use military power to support our strategy. Deitchman's synthesis of all these themes shows that the existing trends in the nation and the world are not favorable for our future security. Can they be changed? And if so, how? That's the conundrum readers of this book are invited to ponder.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Seymour Deitchman blends hardheaded realism with engaging conjecture to deliver an informative and entertaining analysis of U.S. national security in the 21st century. He takes the unconventional approach of describing potential "scenarios" of conflict--what he calls "a fanciful yet plausible look into the world's future to support some mind-stretching speculations about what might befall our nation in the coming century." And so he writes quasi-fictional accounts of China invading Taiwan, Muslim fundamentalists overthrowing the moderate rulers of Saudi Arabia, and Colombian drug cartels gaining control of the Panama Canal. (Because of this tack, On Being a Superpower will remind some readers of Caspar Weinberger's book The Next War.) Deitchman's point is not to argue how the United States should respond to these crises: "My book, by contrast, is descriptive: It concentrates less (but not negligibly) on what I think ought to be done and more (but not exclusively) on what I think is likely to be done by our nation in furtherance of its national security," he writes. A few of his ideas will seem far-fetched: he proposes that in the year 2100, for example, North America will contain three sovereign powers: the Confederation of "New Hispaniola" (i.e., Mexico and the southwestern United States), "New France" (Quebec), and something called "USCAN" (the leftover parts of the United States and Canada). Deitchman also provides a detailed examination of contemporary national security and military dilemmas. Even if parts of On Being a Superpower are unpersuasive, it's easy to get swept away by Deitchman's unconventional method. --John J. Miller

Review

"A true master effort in its field--a mind-stretching suggestion of possible future security challenges, a sobering examination of our domestic society and the world around us in the difficulties they would bring to bear, and finally, the author's assessment of military fundamentals, grounded in his extraordinary depth of experience and critical insight..." -- Andrew J. Goodpastor; General, US Army, Ret.

"Seymour Deitchman thinks big. His book, On Being a Superpower: And Not Knowing What to Do About It has a large perspective both in time and scope. He tells where America is at with its foreign policy, how it got there and what direction we may be following. Some of his not-so-hypothetical scenarios are pretty chilling. He deals with America's short term and self-centered approach to foreign relations, tolerance versus evangelism as an unresolved issue, and the challenges facing us in various parts of the world. A must read for those aspiring to be well informed." -- David Acheson; President of the Atlantic Council of the United States, 1993-1999

"Sy Deitchman has revolutionized strategic theory both by writing an eminently readable book and by poking holes in the prevalent pretension that the U.S. can successfully plan for and deal with the future simply by use of superior hi-tech military might to protect our grip on the world economy. The opening chapters show how easy it is to upset conventional thinking about world security scenarios for the 21st Century. Succeeding chapters show how difficult it would be to contain, much less resolve conflicts ensuing from current strategies. The final chapter provides some common sense ideas about a better approach to potential threats: combining insights into the cultures and needs of others with early diplomatic, economic, and non-combat military operations, backed up by flexible, powerful military forces" -- Robert B. Oakley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books; 1 edition (December 31, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813367751
• ISBN-13: 978-0813367750
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,666,448 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.