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Francis Fukuyama's criticism of the Iraq war put him at odds with neoconservatives both within and outside the Bush administration. Here he explains how, in its decision to invade Iraq, the Bush administration failed in its stewardship of American foreign policy, in making preventive war the central tenet of its foreign policy, in misjudging the global reaction to its exercise of "benevolent hegemony," and in failing to appreciate the difficulties involved in large-scale social engineering. Providing a history of neoconservative thought since the 1930s, Fukuyama argues that the movement's legacy is a complex one that can be interpreted quite differently than it was after the end of the Cold War. He proposes a new approach to American foreign policy, in which the positive aspects of the neoconservative legacy are joined with a more realistic view of how to use American power around the world.--From publisher description.… (more)
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I have to admit I got
Were I more expert in this area I'm sure I would have found much to criticize, but the overall thesis is hard to argue with.
(Incidentally, I read this immediately after Chomsky's Imperial Ambitions, and it was quite a change of pace!)
Fukuyama used to consider himself a neoconservative. The invasion of Iraq seems to have been a turning point. One of those cases where he didn't stop being a neoconservative in his own eyes (like the Kissinger school historically neoconservatives have been very skeptical about the chances for vast social engineering) but the many neoconservatives veered in another direction. Thus the title I see on some other editions: After the Neocons.
Even if you're not much interested in that vein, if you have any interest in how developing countries can make the transition of industrialization, there's a neat synopsis re how thinking has evolved since the early post-colonial era. How come massive infrastructure worked here but not there? The two tracks of economic development and political/institutional development. Could be be wide ranging, imo, but at least thereare references.