Translated material
What to expect from America?
Three books about the foreign policy of a superpower
The United States of America today, while remaining the sole world hegemon, has plunged the planet into such a tangle of problems that from the outside it increasingly seems, in its own terminology, a “rogue state.” The contradiction between the declared idealism of goals and their practical implementation has reached its highest degree of intensity. The three books being presented today allow us to look at current US foreign policy issues from different angles and help clarify our own position on major issues of planetary security.US after Iraq: soft penetration?
Francis Fukuyama. America at a Crossroads: Democracy, Power, and the Neoconservative Legacy. -- M.: AST: AST Moscow: Guardian, 2007.
At one time, Francis Fukuyama welcomed the end of the Cold War and proclaimed the end of history, which meant the uncontested world domination of the liberal democratic, that is, American, ideology. History, however, continued to move as usual and went mercilessly according to Fukuyama's forecasts. The changed situation in the world requires fresh conceptualizations and projects.
The series of lectures included in the new book of the American philosopher and sociologist was given by him in 2005 as part of the Yale University program on ethics, politics and economics. It is dedicated to the most pressing and pressing issues of American foreign policy in the situation of the rise of international terrorism, the protracted Iraqi war and the deterioration of the US image in the world.
Fukuyama says the main thing already in the introduction: having been a follower of the neoconservative approach throughout his entire adult life, in the current circumstances he is forced to part with it. The doctrine of preventive war failed in Iraq - it became clear that the US national security concept should include more subtle strategic moves. As an alternative to neoconservatism (the history of which he traces from its origins in the 1930s in a circle of intellectuals at the City College of New York to its infiltration into the heads of the political establishment), Fukuyama puts forward “realist Wilsonianism,” a softer form of imperialist infiltration.
Realistic - because military force ceases to be the master key to all problems. Wilsonianism (named after the idealistic American president, Woodrow Wilson, the initiator of the creation of the League of Nations) - because the struggle for the democratization of authoritarian and simply closed regimes is still on the agenda. Fukuyama, in particular, welcomes color revolutions in the CIS, emphasizing the clarity of the work of American organizations. But he warns that even such an impressive success cannot be automatically transferred to, say, Russia with its long “tradition of hegemony” and corresponding mentality. The war against radical Islamist jihadists should resemble a series of police and intelligence operations rather than full-scale military operations.
In all this, Fukuyama never questions America's sole right to determine the future of the planet. Regarding the viability of international institutions, he expresses skepticism typical of Americans and argues that archaic and clumsy structures like the UN should be replaced by numerous non-governmental organizations competing with each other and duplicating each other's functions.
Although Fukuyama now stands in some opposition to the current course of the presidential administration, he cannot be denied sensitivity to the conjuncture of the moment, and it is possible that we are looking at the outlines of a future US foreign policy strategy. The election of a new president will not be long in coming.
Russia and America: is dialogue possible?
Veronica Krasheninnikova. America-Russia: Cold War of Cultures. How American values refract the vision of Russia. - M.: Europe, 2007.
In her book, Veronika Krasheninnikova, a New York resident and head of the US-CIS Trade and Economic Cooperation Council, suggests looking at today's Russia through the prism of traditional American values and drawing some strategic conclusions from this. But first, she conducts an educational program for everyone who wants to refresh their memory of the political history of the United States, since the time of the first Puritan settlers, permeated with the spirit of religious messianism, national exclusivity and moral absolutism.
The book clearly demonstrates, “on fingers” and with a fair amount of insider sympathy, that the imperialist intentions of the current American leadership are the flesh of the very liberal democratic creed. Which the author proposes to take for granted. In essence, she argues that the only legitimate language on the global field is the language of American democracy, and Russian foreign policy can only be successful to the extent that it masters this language. Of course, this consideration is exclusively pragmatic, and Veronika Krasheninnikova is not hiding any pro-American “figs in her pocket”.
But she clearly and without school schematism talks about the system of stereotypes and premises within the framework of which representatives of different social strata, political groups and professional circles of the United States view Russia: from ordinary citizens to congressmen and members of the presidential administration. In general, it turns out that Russia today occupies a place on the margins of American interests, remaining in many ways a blank spot. And the information storms fanned in the Russian media regarding certain overseas statements addressed to us often have no basis in reality. In particular, Krasheninnikova demonstrates through text analysis that in documents such as the US Department of State and Agency for International Development Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2007-2012, the position of American diplomacy towards Russia is actually more moderate than in past years, rather neutral with a hint of friendliness than hostility.
And one more thing. The book makes sure that the clichés of the Cold War times are still present in the American perception of Russia, largely due to our inability to convey our values and positions in a language accessible to our opponents, or indeed partners (but certainly not enemies, the author is sure of this). This means that officials representing our country abroad need to learn political marketing in order to more effectively protect national interests.
American imperialism through the eyes of a Martian
Noam Chomsky. Hegemony or struggle for survival: The US quest for world domination. - M.: Stolitsa-Print, 2007.
Linguist and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Noam Chomsky created an entire era in modern humanities: in terms of citation index, he is ahead of Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud. The creator of generative grammar, a concept that reinstated Cartesian rationalism, is also known for his fierce criticism of American foreign policy. However, even in this incarnation he remains a rationalist: he always criticizes the militaristic actions of the United States from the position of “truths” and “moral principles of common sense.” And in this very appeal to common sense, the theorist Chomsky turns out to be strikingly non-theoretical, but for that reason no less convincing - perhaps for everyone except his compatriots.
The presented book (it was published in the States in 2003 and became a bestseller - they say, after it was recommended for general reading by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a man with a well-known reputation) continues a series of revealing books and articles by Chomsky, most of which have already been translated into Russian. The moral credo on which the author stands is as old as time: treat others the way you want to be treated. Chomsky translates this formula from the interpersonal to the interstate plane, and in this perspective, the official American ideology, strengthened by military power, turns out to be inherently immoral. To achieve maximum clarity, the author suggests looking at some well-known stories - like the Cuban Missile Crisis - through the eyes of a Martian, that is, clearing your view of the ideological clichés imposed by politicians and the media.
The book contains a lot of facts, based on many open sources, proving the imperialist nature of American foreign policy and the desire for “undivided global dominance.” Cuba, Colombia, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Kosovo, Palestine, Iraq and other states that have experienced the lordly wrath (covered by the rhetoric of lordly love) of the world hegemon are consistently under the spotlight. Throughout at least the entire post-war history, high ideals of democracy turn out to be a cover for state business interests, and the Iraq war is not an exceptional event, but a natural continuation of a line taken long ago.
Chomsky proves that today the “rogue state” is actually the United States itself, provoking international terrorism, increasing the arms race and - as a result - putting the world on the brink of disaster. The only thing that can save our planet is a return to realpolitik of the moral dimension. And the most famous American dissident pins his hopes on the growing importance of world public opinion, which has already demonstrated itself in widespread protests against the war in Iraq.