The World Crisis - Softcover

Harvey-robert

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1845298705 ISBN 13: 9781845298708

Publisher: Constable, 2008

Synopsis

Robert Harvey and Geoffrey Howe have brought together a collection of nineteen wise men of global politics who are united in their dismay at the direction that international relations has taken since 2001. They offer recommendations of how to unravel the mess that Western governments find themselves them in after their disastrous interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. They suggest that the War on Terror has been misguided, poorly executed and that the threat has been over-emphasised, which has been used to introduce legislation that has to a severe erosion of our civil liberties. For the future, they suggest we should focus on the really important issues that face the world today. Each discusses exactly what those issues are.

About this title

About the Author

Robert Harvey is a former member of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, was assistant editor of The Economist, and foreign affairs leader writer for the Daily Telegraph. His books include, War of Wars, Global Disorder and Cochrane. He lives in Powys, Wales.

From Publishers Weekly

This anthology compiles the opinions of 20 British and American senior statesmen on how best to move toward a safer and more stable world, drawing upon contributors from across the political spectrum including Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Sam Nunn, military historian Sir Michael Howard, Michael Heseltine of the U.K. Conservative Party and journalist Simon Jenkins. Their shared consensus is that George Bush and Tony Blair legitimized unprovoked wars, departed from previous constraints and risked turning the West into international villains. Specific recommendations (and contrasting opinions) on everything from national security to global warming abound: Zbigniew Brzezinski optimistically asserts that when the U.S. and Europe are united, there is literally nothing they cannot do; while Simon Jenkins uses Afghanistan as a case study to condemn liberal interventionism root and branch. The kaleidoscopic essays illustrate editor Harvey's claim that the world is entering a new era, but how best to address this situation is anybody's guess. The attitudes and institutions of the post-WWII world may be ill-suited to the challenges of rogue states, terrorists, human rights violators and global warmers, but Harvey's best and brightest offer no more than discordant notes played on uncertain trumpets. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Constable
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1845298705
• ISBN 13: 9781845298708
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 250