Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order [NOOK Book]

A reviewer

Throughout the history of man, nations have continually sought greater levels of power and influence over other, weaker communities. Occasionally, a single political entity gains sufficiently in either of these two areas to the point at which the strength it wields is such that no other nation possesses the capability to oppose it in any further ambitions. At this point in the development of a civilization, it has reached the height of its status, and only then can the title of ¿Super Power¿ be correctly attributed to it. However, this period in the history of all societies who are fortunate enough to attain it lasts only a short while. Eventually, political turmoil within, or military conflict without, or not unusually, some combination of the two, results in the swift decline and sudden collapse of the nation into a mere fraction of what it once was. Thus is the way made clear for the cycle to continue. The United States has fought for and attained the status of a super power, and this in a relatively short span of time (a period not greatly exceeding the duration of two centuries). This book is a fascinating one to read, as it forces one to contemplate the question of exactly how much longer will present conditions persist? That is, how much longer will the United States remain in possession of the enormous influence which it currently enjoys? It may last for centuries. Or, on the other hand, it may only withstand the duration of the next hundred years. Mr. Kagan¿s essay is a truly objective work that presents both a critical evaluation of the relationship between the United States and Europe, and also the reality that the United States has most probably reached the highest level of influence possible. This short essay is well worth taking the time to read, as its relevance extends well beyond the world of today. It is certainly destined to take its place as one of the greatest political and philosophical works of our time.

Neue Welt Ordnung

a stultifying and absolute embodiment of disinformation that would make even josef goebbels blush! it's real page turner. paraphrased from the book: america exists in an hobbesian world of perpetual war. europe sees itself in a kantian world of perpetual peace. this is why we fail to see eye-to-eye. being personally and intimately familiar with the works of both thomas hobbes and immanuel kant, all i can say is 'wow!' couching this pap in pseudointellectual pedantics certainly one method of pissing on people's backs and convincing them that it is raining!! ....if one is to willingly ignore better than 100 years of cultural and philosophical development transpiring between hobbes and kant, of course! i will certainly credit it in one regard: 'of paradise and power' is much like 'leviathan:' one 'whale of a tale,' that should have been as dutifully pursued across the four corners by melville's 'mad captain ahab,' and rightfully harpooned. for kagan to have published this drivel in contravention of available fact, one or all of the following are true: 1.like any bureaucratic automaton, remaining a sychophant is the accepted method in attainng job security 2. he had no access to the reams of available fact from intelligence reports, diplomatic analyses, radio, television, syndicated news sources... 3. he is proliferating a calculated and consistently deliberate deception. as one of the nation's top foreign policy advisors, for robert kagan to exhibit any of the above is completely untenable.

Whatever

The author has three pages of hypothesis and 100 pages of rational. The problem with the book is the author has slipped on an intellectual bananna peel--he's confused rational with testing. He doesn't test his hypothesis in any way, so the book is just a lot of talk about what he wants to believe and why he wants to believe it. It's actually a pretty good example of a guy with an idea, and, instead of presenting the idea as a hypothesis and designing a test for the hypothesis, he presents the idea as a conclusion and gathers around whatever facts he can to support his conclusion. This manner of thinking can lead you off a cliff, or maybe a into military quagmire...

Provocative essay on the current state of the transatlantic relationship

Robert Kagan's treatise on the current state of transatlantic relations provides a refreshing and unique insight into the troubling situation in which America and Europe navigate through today. By outlining the philosophical ideologies of Kant and Hobbes and the historical events that shaped the current anarchic system of the world, Kagan rightly observes the liberal and realist approaches to international affairs as the dividing point between the 'paradise' of Europe and the 'power' of the United States. Although I disagree with many of his views, Mr. Kagan does an excellent job of shining much needed light on this dormant issue which will surely be a defining point not only for the future of the United States and the rest of the powerful 'West', but for the entire foreign affairs community as well.

such a small book, but still too many pages

I would summarize the book as: Europe wants peace because they don't have a big army, and because the US does, we can do what we please, right or wrong. One page would have been enough.

Good book for reference purposes

Good book, but not a great one. It's more of an essay that illustrates some obvious differences between 'post-modern' Europe and the United States. Could have been more than it was.

Fantastic Read

Kagan, has done a superb job in detailing the differences as well as the similarities between the United States and Europe. It is a chilling reminder of what brought us together, and is a stark reality of what is tearing us apart. The only problem with the book is that it is to short.

Stunning, balanced, and thought-provoking analysis

Kagan presents a well-researched and thorough analysis of the differences between the United States and Europe. If you ever wondered why these two always seem to be at polar opposites these days, this book will explain it to you. It presents it in both the historical and contemporary contexts. It's a very quick read too. You may not like the conclusions he draws about either the US or the Europeans, but he has hit the nail on the head in his assessment of both. He shows the good, the bad, the ugly, and the feckless about both sides, with brutal honesty. This little book has an enormous impact - I am still stunned by his lucid and balanced look at both sides of the Atlantic.

A SATIRE I HOPE

On first reading this book `Of Paradise and Power¿ I thought it must be a satire, a subtle and amusing attempt to mock the elite war lords prodding President Bush. On second reading I found I was wrong. He actually means it. What a surprise that he has just discovered that Europeans and Americans do not share share a common view of the world. He says that Europeans believe that rules and laws are more important than military power. They believe this because, unlike America, Europe has been trodden on too many times first by Napoleon, then Hitler and finally Stalin resulting in more than 30 million dead bodies lying about. As he says Europeans have tried war. They have also tried peace. Old Europe likes peace better. He is correct America now has the power. Hitler had it in 1938. Hitler insisted that Might-Makes-Right. He even claimed, as Kagan does, that Germany was doing God¿s work for Him. Hitler¿s notion of the unachievable one-thousand year Reich is identical Kagan's assumption that America has entered a long era of American hegemony including, as he says, ¿a long-term occupation of one of the Arab world¿s largest countries.¿(p97). But at what cost? Europe, and most countries, welcome America as its leader. But if we continue with Kagan's approach we shall finish up a leader with no followers. The more we dominate the world the quicker we shall lose it. Last month the Oxford Union in the UK, our ally, debated the motion that ¿America is the Biggest Threat to World Peace.¿ The motion failed by a very small margin. Previously the motion was ¿The Advance of the American Way of Life Should be Resisted¿. There is a move in Europe to write a ¿Declaration of Independence¿ and another to adapt George Kennan¿s famous text on containment (of the United States that is). There is even a play on the stage in London called ¿The Madness of George W¿.

Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order

This book is an extension of Mr. Kagan's 'Power and Weakness', an essay published in 'Policy Review' vol. 113. Mr. Kagan argues that the fundamental interests of Europe and the United States diverge sharply, and each should prepare to go separate ways: the US with 'a proper regard for the opinions of mankind', and Europe with an understanding that the US must do what it must do. A flip answer to this thesis is 'Who knew?' Anybody concerned with foreign policy is perfectly aware that there are decisive regional differences and always have been. However this seems to be a recent discovery for Mr. Kagan. 'Of Paradise and Power' has gained notoriety by analyzing some difficult issues, and presenting the results in compact, readable form - a considerable service, if it had been done well. Unfortunately Mr. Kagan's presentation is badly reasoned and dangerously naive. His arguments draw heavily on ill-made - one might say barely made - analogies, usually a sign of poor logic and sloppy thinking. Often, there's no case made at all, just unproven conclusions stated as bald fact, with assumed agreement on the reader's part. In the end, 'Of Paradise and Power' draws an attractive, but deceptive picture: for Europe, a suggestion to enjoy its privileged position as a latter-day Athens, protected at American expense; for the US, a Spartan future: a disguised rationalization for unilateral intervention at will. It's worth remembering that the glory that was Greece was most of all Athenian. Here is the origin of the book's seductiveness: it's an invitation for the US to conduct any foreign policy desired, without taking the trouble to think through the consequences. There's better work along this line, notably 'Conflict After the Cold War' and more recent articles from Richard Betts, who's considered national security issues much longer and more deeply than Mr. Kagan. For a lighter read, Eric Russell's excellent novel, 'Wasp', has been recently republished. It explores the mind of a surprisingly familiar terrorist.

Of Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order

The writing is exquisite. The ideas are a warmed over hash. The tone is 'Mein Kampf' Volume 2, lite, combined with (of all things!) JFK's New Frontier, before the Bay of Pigs. There's some Hegelian inevitability mixed in for thickening, though the word used by Mr. Kagan is 'structural'. The result will be a must-read in some circles, as Mao's Little Red Book was in others. Both were written to be misinterpreted.

Simply Amazing!

This essay is incredibly well written and gives a conscise and precise explanation to the huge divide in methods of thought between the "Paradise" that Europe has created for itself with its continuing reliance on the "Power" (United States). This is a must read for any Political Science major or anyone that simply wants to know why "the U.S. is from Mars and Europe is from Venus."

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No text was provided for this review.