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recommendations . A short review cannot do justice to the richness of
his remarks, but they can be summarized in brief.
In
the realm of Euro–
pean affairs, he notes that the demise of the Soviet Union, the rise of a
united Germany, and the growth of European integration are all tend–
ing to push the United States and Europe in different directions. The
goal of American foreign policy, he argues, should be to keep the
"Atlantic partnership" focused on Russia, helping that state to mod–
ernize and democratize while countering any expansionist designs that
it may harbor. Because of his emphasis on the continuing threat posed
by Russia, he is dismayed by the way in which NATO has evolved from
an alliance with a well-defined purpose-to contain the threat from the
East-into a collective security organ searching for a new mandate.
Therefore, it is hardly surprising that he harshly criticizes NATO's role
in the Balkans.
In
Latin America, he asserts, the United States should
make sure that the enduring peace among the states of the area is not
disturbed.
It
should a lso create a NAfTA-like trade organization for the
economic benefit of a II. Under no ci rcu msta nces, however, should the
United States involve itself directly in the long-standing and severe inter–
nal disputes that plague many of these states.
His prescriptions for Asia, the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa
reflect the more turbulent conditions of these regions. The object of
American foreign policy in Asia, he claims, should be twofold: to pre–
serve the American-Japanese alliance and to prevent the emergence of a
regional hegemon. Still, he argues that the United States should not try
to inhibit China's rise to the status of a great power so long as China
does not threaten American national interests.
In
the Middle East,
according to Kissinger, the American goal should be
to
promote peace–
ful co-existence between Israel and the Arab world as well as among the
Arab states themselves. Secular and religious ideologies in the Arab
world, he astutely contends, rule out a liberal-democratic, or "warm,"
peace for the indefinite future. Finally, he convincingly affirms that the
United States has no genuine national interests at stake in Sub-Saharan
Africa; hence, its primary task in this region is to amelioratc conditions
after the terrible natural and man-made disasters that have blighted the
African continent over the past half century.
Kissinger'S attitude toward the phenomenon of globalization is decid–
edly schizophrenic. On the one hand, he is a firm proponent of economic
globalization, believing that the spread of free-markct capitalism is the
quickest and most efficient way to raise standards of living around the
world. With respect to those groups and states less able to benefit from
economic globalization, he suggests that they be cushioned against any
