Does America Need a Foreign Policy?

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Does America Need a Foreign Policy?: Toward a Diplomacy for the 21st Century is a 2001 book by Henry Kissinger (Simon and Schuster, New York, New York, USA ISBN 0-684-85567-4).

Summary of Book

 

"At the apogee of its power, the United States finds itself in an ironic position. In the fate of the most profound and widespread upheavals the world has ever seen, it has failed to develop concepts relevant to the emerging realities."

4 International Systems:

1. Western Hemisphere

-Idealist version of peace is relevant
-Wars only because of ethnicity
-Disputes not settled by war or threat of it
-Military Power is a response from an external threat

2. Asia

-countries consider themselves strategic rivals
-each consider 1 another/combined forces as a threat to their NS
-War is not imminent, though not inconceivable
-Military is for the others in the region

3. Middle East

-roots = ideological and religious
-comprise is elusive not b/c of grievances, but b/c other side exists
-attempts at a definite resolution will backfire/never happen
-all of this b/c it is a holy place

4. Africa

-each of the 46 call themselves democracies, but each differ vastly
-colonial borders separated tribes and unified enemies
-policy deals with how to compensate them
-find ways to integrate them into the international community