Click Here to see all our books The Book OrphanageAmerica Alone: The Neo-Conservatives and the Global Order
by Stefan Halp
In the conclusion to America Alone written in early 2004, we described the forces of neo-conservatism as having reached a high water mark. We anti-cipated that the foreign policy pendulum would start to swing back to more established norms. Under these the United States would, in a prudent calculation of national interest, re-emphasize the value of working with the grain of international opinion, would give a less prominent place to unilateral action, and would treat military intervention more cautiously. In its first steps, the second Bush administration has indeed started to act on these lines — with obvious benefits. Relations with Europe have improved; a more constructive exchange has opened on Middle East questions, and China's responsibilities as a global citizen have been given added focus. Whether our book had any influence on these positive developments is not for us to calculate. The trend, however, is a welcome one. Furthermore, a more practical tone has seen the administration soften its strident "March of Democracy" rhetoric, thus allowing democratic aspirants in various parts of the world to have the confidence to pursue the path of democracy with-out portraying themselves as acting on instructions from Washington. All this suggests that the trauma of 911 has begun to abate and that a nuanced in which real interests are balanced with idealized aspirations may lie
Does this mean neo-conservatism is finished, destined to join other failed like Marxism as just another momentary entry in the historical As some of the movement's leaders transition from the Pentagon State Department to less formative roles in the policy process, this seem to be the case. Can, therefore, Americans and their well-wishers the world heave a sigh of relief, happy that the outcome of the neo-rive experiment in Iraq could have been worse and that the excesses
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