U.S. Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century: The Relevance of Realism

In U.S. Foreign Policy in the Twenty-First Century, Robert J. Myers gives coherent and pointed statement to a complex history of political theory involving idealism and its theoretical counterpart, realism. He sets out to restate the possible outcomes of the tension between idealist and realist expectations "so that there may be a broader consensus on what one can both expect and accept about how the political world works in normal times and in times of crisis."

Adherents of realism like Myers claim that a political philosophy based on the key considerations of interest, power, and moral purpose will create order from the seemingly chaotic nature of international relations. This approach, known as political realism, calls for the intervention of a statesman-philosopher with a profound understanding of international political operations.

Early chapters on the legacy of the Peloponnesian War, on Machiavelli and human nature, on Kant and the "institutionalization" of peace, on China's international relations system, and on historicism and pro-gress lay the historical groundwork for understanding how the premises of political realism neither lead to pacifism in the face of challenge nor anticipate the elimination of war as an instrument of state power. Chapters on the "just war," isolationism as a misapplication of international organization, environmental
issues, and human rights follow, with a concluding chapter on what Myers calls the promise of realism for the United States.

Idealist solutions to problems of power (e.g., new institutions, a new world community to subsume differences) usually present new problems and no lasting results. As Myers demonstrates, only through the study of the ideas of ancient and modern political philosophers can one see the enduring outlines of good statecraft, based on the principles of political realism. The wise leaders of the future will follow the soundest principles of the past, taking the United States and the world confidently into the twenty-first century.