Under the Bridge

I think I fell in love with my first International Relations Theorist.  Call me a Neotraditional Realist if you will, but I love Fareed Zakaria.  

On reading that back to myself, that sounds a little pompous.  Let me explain. 

 

I have been doing alot of IR and diplomacy readings for a paper on democracy as an anti-terror tactic and whether the rhetoric of democracy is correct given the state of many illiberal democracies worldwide and the need for liberalism, not democracy, for the unrest in many of the world's simmering waters.  

Neotraditional Realism is strictly a theory of international politics, which differs it from many different schools of political realism theory, in that it makes no attempt to explain foreign policy or historical events.  Therefore it focuses on systematic phenomena and not very heavily on complex foreign policy analyses, which I beleive are extremely difficult to assess accurately today based on the increased globalization and interdependence of our world and the lack of distance from events to investigate many results of foreign policy in the last half-decade.  This train of thought is also different because it adds the element of soft (ie cultural) power to the historical equation along with domestic policy actions, intentions, and perceptions.

In foreign policy we do not necessarily want to maximize our power or resources, but wee seek to maximize our influence.  We want to increase our control on others.  We want to continue to live an unsustainable lifestyle of consumption and materialism, and our foreign policy aligns with economic motives that continue this-opening new markets and  promoting not democracy but regimes that provide stable access to the countries resources.  In essence, I really think we are fighting a culture war.  Or maybe its a capitalistic war for continued unbridled consumption.

And the guy himself is fascinating and charming. I knew his latest book, The Post-American World, sounded familiar when I was reading about him, and its because based on the title and his Indian ancestry this book was all over Indian bookstores last summer. He has also made multiple appearances on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and has had shows on CBS, ABC, and CNN.  I think he may just be this generations Henry Kissinger, although Zakaria is considered a centrist.  Thanks for having such a keen eye for foreign affairs and international relations theory, Fareed; I think you have saved my paper.