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The Return of History and the End of Dreams

Forward to the past

Robert Kagan
Atlantic, 105pp, £12.99,

James Forsyth

Wednesday, 28th May 2008

James Forsyth on Robert Kagan's new book

This poses a problem for the free world, to revive an old Cold War term. If it wishes to intervene and the United Nations won’t let it, who can — and should — authorise such actions?

Kagan and McCain propose that a League of Democracies is needed for this very purpose. This has been denounced as a sinister, neo-con plot to undermine the United Nations and give America total freedom of action in world affairs. But that has things backwards. Kagan favours a League of Democracies as an alternative to the United States acting unilaterally. He is suggesting a check, not an aid to American power.

A League of Democracies sounds like a good idea on paper. But it is not a panacea. As the Iraq war demonstrated, democracies do not always think alike. Kagan does not address what the United States would do if a League of Democracies refused to authorise a US military intervention. But realistically, the United States will not accept even other democratic nations having a veto over its foreign policy. One wonders whether a League of Democracies could survive an Iraq-style moment.

The Return of History would be an important book even if Kagan was not an advisor to McCain. But seeing how influential his thinking is with the Republican nominee for President of the United States, it is essential reading.

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Karl Kraut

May 30th, 2008 5:06pm

Just imagine, had Russia and China intervened humanitarily in the US after the New Orleans hurricane-disaster! Nowadays, them having become capitalist countries, are—thank goodness— not promoting that competing communist imperialist ideology anymore. It's just that they haven't yet developed the statist class, whose business is extorting taxes, that we yet can call them 'developed democracies'. Anyway, Rupert Murdoch is apparently more or less endorsing Obama, anxious to prohibit warmongerer McCain & crony Kagan being a threat to China & his business interests over there. And that's the good news for all of us that love peace, prosperity & freedom!

Thomas O. Meehan

June 1st, 2008 1:02am

The return of ideological competition? Does Forsyth really believe that the Russians are exporting the ideology of Russianness, or the Chinese are exporting the thought of Mao? Please. There is no ideological competition, just the competition of competing powers for resources and influence. The only thing these powers have in common is their rejection of mass-Democracy as practiced in the declining societies of West.

Kagan is just another armchair warrior beating the drum for a new cold war to provide further employment for his fellow neo-cons.

S.M. Stirling

June 11th, 2008 8:29am

Russia's population is dropping by 1% a year and China's isn't far behind.

Dying nations of geezers aren't much of a long-term threat.

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