Does America Need a Foreign Policy? : Toward a Diplomacy for the 21st Century [Hardcover]

Henry Kissinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 14, 2001

An assessment of how the United States dominant position may be effectively reconciled with the urgent need, in the 21st century, to achieve a new world order. Kissinger examines America's present and future relations with Russia, China, Europe, the Middle East, and other areas in the world. He covers areas such as globilization, military intervention, free trade and the eroding of the planet's natural environment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger asks a question in the title of his book Does America Need a Foreign Policy?--but there's really no doubt about the answer. That's not to say it shouldn't be asked: "The last presidential election was the third in a row in which foreign policy was not seriously discussed by the candidates," writes Kissinger. "In the face of perhaps the most profound and widespread upheavals the world has ever seen, [the United States] has failed to develop concepts relevant to the emerging realities." Kissinger tours the world in this book, describing how the United States should relate to various regions and countries. This is not a gripping book, but it is sober, accessible, brief, and comprehensive--and an excellent introduction to international relations and diplomacy.

Kissinger has opinions on just about every topic he raises, from globalization (for it) to international courts (against them, for the most part). He supports a vigorous missile-defense system: "The United States cannot condemn its population to permanent vulnerability." He opines on peace in the Middle East: "Israel should abandon its opposition to the creation of a Palestinian state except as part of a final status agreement." His claims are often eye-opening: "There are few nations in the world with which the United States has less reason to quarrel or more compatible interests than Iran." He is especially critical of domestic politics interfering with America's international relations: "Whatever the merit of the individual legislative actions, their cumulative effect drives American foreign policy toward unilateral and seemingly bullying conduct." The media has been a special problem in this regard, as it zips around the world in search of exciting but ephemeral stories, which are "generally presented as a morality play between good and evil having a specific outcome and rarely in terms of the long-range challenges of history." Does America need a foreign policy? Of course it does, and Henry Kissinger has done readers a service by outlining what a good one might be. --John J. Miller

From Publishers Weekly

Former Secretary of State Kissinger ambitiously undertakes herein the total revamping of U.S. foreign policy. This is necessary, he contends, because even though the U.S. is enjoying an unprecedented preeminence, it lacks "a long-range approach to a world in transition." Recent U.S. foreign policy, he says, has become dangerously ad hoc, a case-by-case response to challenges as they occur. Needed instead is "ideological subtlety and long-range strategy," which Kissinger provides. Chapter by chapter, he analyzes the broad challenges facing the U.S. and the world, from globalization and its attendant promises and disruptions (he warns that globalization has enriched many and impoverished and dislocated many others) to humanitarian intervention from Somalia to Kosovo. In other chapters he offers recommendations on how the U.S. should proceed in various areas of the world: Europe, the Western Hemisphere, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Kissinger's point is that each region is unique and thus so should be U.S. foreign policy toward them. Our alliance with Europe, for example, is the bedrock of Kissinger's U.S. foreign policy; we must make sure, he warns, that the European Community remains a political partner, not a competitor. While not all will agree with his findings he is, for instance, quite skeptical about humanitarian intervention it is a pleasure to experience a first-class mind subtly explaining in an accessible way the immense intricacies of modern U.S. foreign policy. 6 maps. Agent, Marvin Josephson, ICM. (June 14)Forecast: Given the author's prominence, this is bound to get major media attention and to spark debate, fueled by national advertising and publicity and a four-city author tour. This title is a BOMC and History Book Club alternate.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Limited edition (June 14, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684855674
• ISBN-13: 978-0684855677
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,067,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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41 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thought Provoking Ideas from the Modern Day Metternich, June 2, 2001

By 

Shogun Len "tokieyasu" (Arizona) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Does America Need a Foreign Policy? : Toward a Diplomacy for the 21st Century (Hardcover)

You may agree or disagree with Henry Kissinger. You may think Kissinger is the modern day Prince Metternich or the modern day Napoleon III. You may read this book and say to yourself, Kissinger is saying exactly what we should do, or is giving the wrong advice on foreign policy. You can argue any of these points. You can love Kissinger or hate him. You can agree or disagree. But what you can not deny about Dr. Kissinger or his book is that he knows foreign policy and diplomacy and his ideas right or wrong are food for very serious thought.

I am not going to lie and say this book is as exciting as John Grisham or Tom Clancy. It is not. Nor is it as exciting as Diplomacy was. And yes, Diplomacy is an exciting and masterful book. And his chapter on Europe is extremely dry. But the information giving, the background, the possible solutions are very important to read, understand, and debate.

Kissinger's whole premise of the book to is the need for America to have a long range, well thought out foreign policy. Whether you agree with what he says about how this policy should be shaped is debatable. But what he makes a strong case for in his introduction and throughout the book is the need to have a foreign policy with specific goals, and not a foreign policy based on public opinion at the moment and by the seat of your pants. I think, right or left, realpolitik or Wilsonian we can all agree with that.

Again, I felt his chapter on Europe was dry but he makes up for it with his chapter on Asia. His thoughts on China, Taiwan, and India to me were the most interesting of the book. Also, in light of the recent events in the Middle East I was glad to read his thoughts on the situation between Israel and the Palestinians.

I will not recap Kissingers ideas, but again go back to the premise of the book. America needs a foreign policy, a well thought out one. We can argue Balance of Power, realpolitik, Wilsonian, etc. all day. We can argue how to handle Russia, Brazil, Israel, China, South Africa all day. But we should all look beyond Kissingers specifics, the guy knows his stuff but I agree his specifics are open for debate. But what we can all agree on, what I think Kissinger is calling for is a foreign policy that is thought out and serves the best interest of the US around the world and not a foreign policy based on CNNY polls and media spin.

Again, not a light read. Not the most exciting read. But an informative and thought provoking read.

And if you have not read Diplomacy by Kissinger, read that as well.

26 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars History, Politics, Vacuums, and Discretion, November 12, 2001

By 

Robert D. Steele (Oakton, VA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Does America Need a Foreign Policy? : Toward a Diplomacy for the 21st Century (Hardcover)

Edit to revisit Kissinger's role and add book links.

Revisitation: We've always known Kissinger is brilliant, and there is no reason to revise that view. However, in light of what is now known about Viet-Nam, we must find Kissinger guilty as a war criminal (first link below).

The book begins with a lamentation that foreign policy has been neglected in the last three Presidential campaigns; that the American public is terribly apathetic about foreign affairs; and that Congress is overly interventionist--he refrains from adding the obvious caveat regarding most Members lack of knowledge of the world. In brief, we have a long way to go as a Nation before we can devise and sustain a credible foreign policy.

The core point in this entire work is that both economics and technologies, including Internet and communications technologies, have so out-paced politics that the world is at risk. Globalization, terrorism, and other threats cannot be addressed with our existing international, regional, and national political constructs, and new means must be found--new political solutions must be found--if we are to foster security and prosperity in the age of complexity, discontinuity, and fragmentation.

There are some useful sub-themes:

1) Each region must be understood in its full complexity, with special attention to both emerging powers and to the subtleties of relations between regional actors--we should not confine ourselves to simply addressing each actor's relationship to the United States.

2) We must take great care to never interpose ourself or allow ourselves to become a substitute for a regional power, e.g. in the dialog between North and South Korea, or India and Pakistan.

3) We must strive at all times to ensure that the historic context is clearly appreciated and underlying every policy formulation, at the same time that we must recognize and define the vast cultural differences between US approaches to foreign policy, and the approaches of others, such as China.

4) Military compromise, whether in the Gulf War, Bosnia, or Kosovo, leaves a strategic vacuum that will inevitably require attention.

5) Africa is the true test for whether a world community can be devised and new solutions found for addressing the severe conditions in Africa that ultimately threaten the well-being of the rest of the world.

6) Our foreign service officers and the political leaders they serve must have history and philosophy restored to their diets, or they will fail to devise long-range concepts, global strategies, and sustainable policies.

Dr. Kissinger ends with what some might overlook and what I found to be absolutely core: no economic system can be sustained without a political basis. However much major multinational corporations may care to buy their comforts and their arrangements of convenience, at root, they prosper only because some set of political arrangements among great nations is providing a safety net, including the financial system with one major node in New York.

The books ends with an appeal for American humility and discretion as it makes it way forward--we must act as if we are one of many co-equal nation-states, while recognizing that our pre-eminence demands more of us than might be expected from others.

There is one major gap in this book, and I suspect it was deliberate: there is no discussion at all of the means by which American foreign policy is to be devised. As America moves into the early months of the "war on terrorism", it would have been helpful to have a really well-qualified rant on how it is impossible for this great Nation to have a foreign policy when we have gutted almost into extinction what passes for a Department of State today. Our Foreign Service, our Embassies, our foreign assistance programs, our Peace Corps, our external research, our sponsorship of international conferences on topics of vital importance to the US, have all faded into decrepitude. If ever there was a time when Kissinger, Brzezinski, and Powell should come together and champion a major restoration--at least a $10 billion a year increase--in Program 150 (our soft power), this is that time. That they have all failed to do so troubles me--that Senator Biden was castigated publicly for speaking the plain truth about how the world perceives us--troubles me. The attacks of 11 September represent, primarily, a failure of our ability to monitor and understand the world. That failure must lie heavily--and equally--on the shoulders of the foreign service (State), the clandestine service (CIA), and the counterintelligence service (FBI).

See also:
The Trial of Henry Kissinger
The Fifty-Year Wound: How America's Cold War Victory Has Shaped Our World
Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy
The Sorrows of Empire: Militarism, Secrecy, and the End of the Republic (The American Empire Project)
Breaking the Real Axis of Evil: How to Oust the World's Last Dictators by 2025
Web of Deceit: The History of Western Complicity in Iraq, from Churchill to Kennedy to George W. Bush
Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA
None So Blind: A Personal Account of the Intelligence Failure in Vietnam

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting ..., August 16, 2002

By 

Puneet Tanwar (Hyderabad) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Does America Need a Foreign Policy? (Hardcover)

Interesting reading. I don't suppose this book has much value for an American, but for outsider it helps explain many things, and also offers an insight into American foreign policy goals. The style is very accessible. The mid-east chapter is especially interesting for obvious reasons. Being an Indian, I found his analysis of relationship with India pretty positive and interesting. I could give it 3 1/2 stars if I could.