David Milne’s 2015 book Worldmaking: The Art and Science of American Diplomacy is a historical review of
American foreign policy organized around nine administration figures whose
views have shaped our foreign policy since before World War I, beginning with
Alfred Thayer Mahan’s views on sea power, and going through people such as Woodrow
Wilson, Walter Lippmann, George Kennan, Henry Kissinger, and Barack Obama.
Milne details the constant back-and-forth struggle between Wilsonian idealism,
neoliberal interventionism and pragmatic realpolitic
in America foreign policy, depending on which personalities are entering or
leaving the political stage at any given point.
Besides giving wonderful portraits of the key players and how
their upbringing shaped their views, Milne details the endless infighting
within the various administrations as these players struggle for policy
dominance and political leverage. It is remarkable how often deeply and
passionately held views by these intelligent and highly educated people have
turned out to be wrong – it ought to be a lesson in humility to all of us. Statecraft is not a science, despite academics
calling it “political science”; statecraft is a very human art, heavily
dependent on skills in persuasion, in understanding opponent’s cultures and
world views, in knowing history, and in negotiating. Milne is very good at
helping the reader see how these skills succeed – or fail – with the people he discusses.
This is not a light read, but it is well written and well
worthwhile in that it gives perspective to today’s leaders and today’s
geopolitical issues. And part of that perspective is to realize again that the dismay with Trump's policies in some quarters is no worse than the dismay of some people for Woodrow Wilson's policies in his time, or Theodor Roosevelt's in his time, Ronald Reagan's in his time, or for that matter for Barak Obama's during his administration. There is a deep and schizophrenic division among Americans between our ideals and the realities of the world, and whichever happens to be the dominant policy at the moment always seems to lead opponents to expect the imminent end of the world. Perhaps as we mature as a culture this will eventually mellow into a more reasonable understanding of the cycles of history.
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