The Globalist

A grand strategy, such as it is pursued by the Bush Administration, ultimately rests on the simple idea of a unipolar world -- the notion that the United States is the only power that counts in the world today.

Coincidentally, that is also why neo-conservative advocates are so critical of France's avowed goal of creating a multi-polar world, attributing it to France's superpower "envy."

Yet for all practical purposes, a multipolar world already… more

There are three reasons to question the emphasis of a U.S. mission in the Middle East. The first relates to whether the United States can overcome the deep legacy of distrust -- and even hatred -- past U.S. policies have created in the region.

U.S. empire for the common good

Neo-conservatives in and around the Bush Administration like to believe the United States is a different kind of hegemonic power.

They assert that the country does not… more

In 1989, Ronald Reagan proclaimed that "the communications revolution will be the greatest force for the advancement of human freedom that the world has ever known."

Technology promise

Maybe -- in a decade or so -- his prophecy will come true and Nigerians, Saudis, and Kazakhs might routinely download the U.S. Constitution and vote over cell phones in mass parliaments.

But for now, information technology hasn't lived up to its worldwide political promise.

Many authoritarian countries, such… more

It is interesting to recall these days that, in the middle of the 20th century, both U.S. liberals as well as conservatives were Atlanticists.

Inventors of democracy?

As a matter of fact, the post-war conservative movement of William F. Buckley, Jr. united Americans and European intellectuals and politicians in a sophisticated critique of the transatlantic social democratic left.

Today, things are very different. The sense of a common Western civilization defended in different ways by Cold War liberals and Cold War conservatives… more

After World War II, both native and emigre intellectuals had a profound impact on U.S. foreign policy. In our new Globalist Paper, Michael Lind explores the old guard of Central European Realists -- and the new crop of British Commonwealth Imperialists. He proposes that it is high time to rediscover the "American School" of foreign policy.

From the Napoleonic Era until World War I, the United States had its own distinctive mainstream foreign policy tradition. Call it the… more

A group of Americans dreamed of creating a U.S. empire. Their opening came with the mass death of Americans in a shocking event. Media sensationalism whipped public outrage into a war frenzy. The resulting war was a success, but the subsequent occupation was a failure. Michael Lind asks: Does this describe the invasion of Iraq in 2003 -- or the Spanish-American War of 1898?

A century ago, under President McKinley, the camp of prominent American imperialists included Vice President… more

In the last century, it was Great Britain which invaded Iraq twice -- in World War I and World War II. Both times, the British were successful -- although the Mesopotamian campaigns of 1915-1917 cost them over 50,000 lives.

Blame the Brits?

Of course, in light of recent events, it's hard to see what good they accomplished back then. Indeed, some observers note the artificial borders of Iraq -- and conclude that many of the… more

In 1906, as the Dutch rounded out the acquisition of their Southeast Asian empire, they closed in on Bali's remaining autonomous regency -- including the now-infamous Kuta Beach.

Going Dutch in Indonesia

Recognizing the looming European victory, and preferring death with honor to life in submission, Bali's entire nobility did the inevitable.

They bathed at length, clothed themselves in white gowns -- and marched into the Dutch cannons. Those whom the Dutch did not immediately slaughter committed… more

Two days before the Kuta beach bombings, a Balinese friend named Wayan Sugita explained to us that the key to warding off danger in Bali is honking one's car horn a few times before driving across a bridge.

Wake-up bomb

This, he explained, would scare off any evil spirits living in the rivers, where so many of them dwell. At the time, that seemed like enough protection for Bali.

Sadly, as we all know since the October 2002 bombings, things have… more

A new model of consumer-led growth is beginning to emerge in the tiger economies -- in South Korea and Thailand, in particular.

This model owes a lot to the U.S. model. But in this instance, it is not the model that the U.S. Treasury and International Monetary Fund, both Washington-based institutions, have been peddling for more than a decade.

The real American model

Rather, it is the American post-war success story of consumer and government-deficit led growth that has… more