Grand Strategies: Literature, Statecraft, and World Order
"In an age of short attention spans and disaggregated facts, Charles Hill does much to revive two venerable traditions---the classical ideal of statesmanship, and the close engagement with great texts." Henry A. Kissinger<BR><BR>"A remarkable book....Hill is the exemplification of the Clausewitzian coup d'oeil---the ability to see how everything connects to everything else." John Lewis Gaddis, author of The Cold War: A New...
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“The international world of states and their modern system is a literary realm,” writes Charles Hill in this powerful work on the practice of international relations. “It is where the greatest issues of the human condition are played out.”A distinguished lifelong diplomat and educator, Hill aims to revive the ancient tradition of statecraft as practiced by humane and broadly educated men and women. Through lucid and compelling discussions of classic literary works from Homer to Rushdie, Grand Strategies represents a merger of literature and international relations, inspired by the conviction that “a grand strategist . . . needs to be immersed in classic texts from Sun Tzu to Thucydides to George Kennan, to gain real-world experience through internships in the realms of statecraft, and to bring this learning and experience to bear on contemporary issues.”This fascinating and engaging introduction to the basic concepts of the international order not only defines what it is to build a civil society through diplomacy, justice, and lawful governance but also describes how these ideas emerge from and reflect human nature.American Interest“A truly masterful synthesis. . . . A kaleidoscopic masterpiece that illuminates all it surveys.”--Edward N. Luttwak, American Interest— Edward N. Luttwak
Works Discussed in This BookPrologue: Books of the Red Chamber 11 Classical Orders 92 Creative Disorder 493 Sources of Modern World Order 734 What Kind of State? 885 Enlightenment: Critique of Diplomacy, State, and System 1186 America: A New Idea 1347 Disorder and War 1778 The Imported State 2329 The Writer and the State 282Epilogue: Talleyrand and Everything Else 293Notes 299Bibliography 325Acknowledgments 344Index 347
\ American Interest“A truly masterful synthesis. . . . A kaleidoscopic masterpiece that illuminates all it surveys.”--Edward N. Luttwak, American Interest\ — Edward N. Luttwak\ \ \ \ \ \ Foreign Affairs"A fascinating book that has the feel of a life''s work. . . . Hill affirms the intellectual endeavor of looking at the world through a literary lens. . . . At a deeper level, the book is about the fragility of order and the struggle of statesmen to balance, restrain, and legitimate state power."--John Ikenberry, Foreign Affairs\ \ — John Ikenberry\ \ \ \ The New Criterion"The originality of this book lies . . . in the argument that these works have actually shaped the world of nations because of the influence they have on kings, princes, generals, and statesmen. . . . Grand Strategies is an unusual volume, filled with sharp insights about a daunting list of writers and circuitous pathways and detours that eventually lead the reader to hidden destinations. It makes its case diplomatically by drawing the reader into a way of thinking about the political world rather than by pressing a single argument or set of conclusions. It is as original as it is unusual, the rare volume that provokes neither agreement nor disagreement, but rather independent thought about the worlds we have lost and the one we have inherited."—James Piereson, The New Criterion\ — James Piereson\ \ \ \ \ \ Wall Street Journal“Grand Strategies concerns statesmanship and strategy: the uses of power, the fate of alliances, war and peace. It also, happily, provides a tour through the Great Books, giving special attention to nation-states and their vexed relations.”--William Anthony Hay, Wall Street Journal\ — William Anthony Hay\ \ \
