In the book World Order, Henry Kissinger, the dean of American diplomacy, analyzes the origins of international harmony and disorder. He claims that there has never been a world order that was truly global. And that for much of human history, each civilization saw itself as the center of the world.
Kissinger, now 99, was National Security Adviser and Secretary of State to Presidents Richard Nixon (1969-1974) and Gerald Ford (1974-1977). He says that the idea for the book came from a conversation over dinner with a friend. Both concluded that the crisis of the definition of world order was, in the last analysis, the international problem of the present time.
Over the course of nine chapters, the dean draws a historical overview of how the concept evolved before tackling the current challenge of building an international order in a world of diverging historical perspectives, violent conflicts, and technological advances.
The order we know today, according to the author, was conceived in Western Europe almost four centuries ago at a peace conference held in the German region of Westphalia, without the involvement or even knowledge of most other continents.
It was based on a system of independent states that renounced interference in each other’s internal affairs and limited their respective ambitions through an overall balance of power. This order grew out of the need for peace, as Europeans saw a quarter of their population decimated during the 30 Years’ War (1618-1648).
The Westphalian concept ceased to exist in 1914 with the outbreak of World War I. In the following years, there was an attempt to return the balance of power through the League of Nations, but that was not able to prevent the Second World War. It was only after 1945 that a balance of power was again established with the creation of the UN (United Nations).
The author points out, however, that the differences between Western and non-Western approaches to the world order have intensified throughout history. In some contemporary civilizations, principles are defined by religious, psychological, or philosophical convictions.
Every international order must sooner or later face the impact of two trends that challenge its cohesion: a redefinition of what is meant by legitimacy or a significant shift in the balance of power.
Order and freedom, sometimes described as opposite poles on the spectrum of experience, should instead be understood as interdependent. Will today’s leaders be able to rise above the urgency of everyday events to achieve this balance?
critical moment
Kissinger warns that the world order proclaimed as universal by Western countries is today again at a critical moment. According to the author, concepts such as democracy, human rights and the international are given such divergent interpretations that warring parties regularly “invoke them against each other as their battle cries”.
The author points out that no country has played such a decisive role in the formation of the contemporary world order as the USA, nor has it expressed such ambivalence about its participation in the process. The country exerted a fundamental influence on important episodes in history, while denying any motivation associated with national interest.
Kissinger argues that while the economy is globalizing, politics remains imprisoned by national borders and that this would be the cause of the crises experienced in Latin America (1980s); Asia (1997); Russia (1998); USA (2001 and 2007); Europe (since 2010).
For the author, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, for signing the agreements that resulted in the end of the Vietnam War (1959-1975), each era has its recurring central theme. In the medieval period, it was religion; in the Enlightenment it was the reason, in the 19th and 20th century it was nationalism.
Science and technology guide our age
Today, science and technology are the guiding concepts for our era, as they have provided unprecedented advances in human well-being. However, he points out that they produced, on the other hand, weapons capable of destroying humanity.
In Kissinger’s view, what is new is the pace of change brought about by the power of computers and the expansion of information technology into all spheres of existence.
Before the information age, the power of nations was measurable through a combination of manpower, equipment, geography, economics and morale. Hostilities were triggered, in a way, by definite events.
Now, a computer can produce a fact of global consequences. A lone agent can manage through cyberspace to disable or potentially destroy vital infrastructure.
In the author’s view, it will be necessary to have a structure in which the global computing environment is organized.
“If some rules of international conduct are not articulated, a crisis will eventually arise from the system’s own internal dynamics”, says the author.
In a work with more questions than proposals for the future, Kissinger considers that the reconstruction of the international system is the greatest challenge facing statesmen today.
world order
Henry Kissinger (Objetiva, 432 pages, R$ 79.70)
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