Kissinger and World Order

Abstract

Kissinger’s World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History provides a powerful restatement of many of themes that have run through Kissinger’s previous writings, his commentary on international affairs, and his own view of the practice of own diplomacy. The book displays Kissinger’s capacity for grand synthesis and his ability to weave together a vast range of material into a coherent overall pattern. It is surely correct in pressing the case for taking the return of geopolitics seriously and for recognising the importance of different ways of seeing the world and of interpreting world order. But it is deeply flawed in the manner in which the themes of power and values are treated and in the moral and political lessons that are drawn from the analysis.