06-23-2004, 01:49 PM
Global Disorder: America and the Threat of World Conflict
by Robert Harvey
Harvey, formerly a member of Parliament and a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, updates his comprehensive survey of established and emerging threats to world security. Harvey's synthesis covers the entire globe, featuring compressed set pieces on such diverse locales as Saudi Arabia and Colombia, Japan and South Africa, with politics and economics his principal subjects. Harvey sees the world as "a much more dangerous place than it has been for nearly half a century," the sources of instability today ranging from terrorism and nuclear proliferation to the irrationality of disintegrated and even "psychopath" states. The world economy has been shaken by currency manipulations, by a vast Third World debt crisis (covered here in detail) and by the depredations of multinational corporations. The author presents himself as a sympathetic observer of the role played by the United States in world affairs. Calling for greater American engagement in the world, the author envisions a four-part foundation for international security in which the U.S. must take the lead, becoming the "benevolent head of the family of nations" in association with a strengthened Japan and European Union. Many suggestions appear throughout the book for creating what the author calls a New Security Architecture for the world. Harvey is obviously a knowledgeable observer of the global scene, and sets out his views with clarity and passion. However, his portrayal of political and economic trends focuses mostly on the 1980s and early 1990s, and analysis of more recent developments would have been welcome. Still, this volume will hold the interest of devotees of contemporary history and those concerned with international affairs.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
In 1990 the Berlin Wall fell, the Cold War ended, and to economic and political analysts the world seemed a safer place. But not to political journalist and former member of the House of Commons Foreign Affair Committee Robert Harvey. In 1995, in The Return of the Strong, Harvey published his fear that on the tides of ethnic nationalism and economic globalization the world was drifting toward a new crisis. The attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, justified Harveyâs alarm and prompted him to extensively revise and update his analysis of the profound dangers facing western democracy today. Incisive, astute, and brilliantly argued, Global Disorder not only examines the precarious state of world affairs in the aftermath of 9/11 but also offers far-reaching proposals for the reform of global security. After describing the emergence of the United States as the worldâs first megapower in part 1 of this important book, Harvey explores the sources of global instability and international tension in part 2, and then in part 3 lays out the perils inherent in the globalization of capitalism without political control. Finally, in part 4, he presents the necessary short- and long-term reforms in policy and action that the West, especially the United States, must undertake to restore stability around the world and to truly ensure international security.
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Average Customer Review:
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Very interesting, but poorly organized..., December 26, 2003
Reviewer: slashersfinebooks (see more about me) from Crescent City, Florida United States
This book appears to be a set of individually written and unpublished essays that were later compiled and reordered into book format. The publisher did an absolutely horrible job of editing the book, and it is littered with spelling and grammatical errors, with at least one mistake per two or so pages. Even the back cover excludes words from a quote written by a reviewer of the book that seemingly gives the book a negative light in itself.
The book can be easily read if one were to simply mentally autocorrect such errors and ignore them.
However, the book redeems itself by giving tons upon tons of interesting ideas and pretty good analyses of current global issues. It is highly readable and enjoyable.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Mind Dump With No Compelling Theme, November 20, 2003
Reviewer: Redmund Sum (see more about me) from Los Altos, CA USA
This book has an eye-catching title and the author has considerable credentials. The substance of the book, however, is rather lightweight.
The author presents a great deal of information and analysis on many subjects, from history to religion to nationalism to corporate governance, etc. So, for your money, you get to read a lot, but all without much coherence and with little depth.
Harvey is mildly biased against the United States of America. In some sense his tirades are a good illustration of the adage that your are damned if you do and you are damned if you don't. Harvey criticizes the U.S. military intervention in certain cases, Panama and Grenada, but then he also criticizes the U.S. for not intervening in certain crises, like Bosnia and Rwanda. In fact, there was a "lost decade", according to Harvey, of not sending our troops to maintain order. His thesis seems to be that if the U.S. flexes her military muscles to protect her interests, it was wrong, she should only put her soldiers in harm's way to pacify ethnic fighting and other regional conflicts where she has no political, economic or military stake. Thanks a lot for that advice!
Harvey argued that even though the September 11 attack was the worst single act of terrorism, it was not REALLY bad when put beside of the vast number of people terrorists killed year-in and year-out; in fact it was "a drop in the ocean" (!) compared with the number of civilians killed in Dresden, Tokyo and Hiroshima during WWII. This is how Harvey asks to put matters in perspective.
His bias notwithstanding, Harvey does offer some sobering facts on how America is intensely disliked in some parts of the world, and why, at least according to his reasoning. There is, in fact, not much mystery here. Envy is a powerful human emotion. If the price for not being disliked were for the U.S. to be a loser, I would not care much for it.
The redeeming values of the book are the breadth of subjects covered and a lucid writing style. It is not entirely a waste of time as I do want to get a perspective of the U.S. and the world as seen from a Brit, even though I might not be in total agreement.
by Robert Harvey
Harvey, formerly a member of Parliament and a columnist for the Daily Telegraph, updates his comprehensive survey of established and emerging threats to world security. Harvey's synthesis covers the entire globe, featuring compressed set pieces on such diverse locales as Saudi Arabia and Colombia, Japan and South Africa, with politics and economics his principal subjects. Harvey sees the world as "a much more dangerous place than it has been for nearly half a century," the sources of instability today ranging from terrorism and nuclear proliferation to the irrationality of disintegrated and even "psychopath" states. The world economy has been shaken by currency manipulations, by a vast Third World debt crisis (covered here in detail) and by the depredations of multinational corporations. The author presents himself as a sympathetic observer of the role played by the United States in world affairs. Calling for greater American engagement in the world, the author envisions a four-part foundation for international security in which the U.S. must take the lead, becoming the "benevolent head of the family of nations" in association with a strengthened Japan and European Union. Many suggestions appear throughout the book for creating what the author calls a New Security Architecture for the world. Harvey is obviously a knowledgeable observer of the global scene, and sets out his views with clarity and passion. However, his portrayal of political and economic trends focuses mostly on the 1980s and early 1990s, and analysis of more recent developments would have been welcome. Still, this volume will hold the interest of devotees of contemporary history and those concerned with international affairs.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
In 1990 the Berlin Wall fell, the Cold War ended, and to economic and political analysts the world seemed a safer place. But not to political journalist and former member of the House of Commons Foreign Affair Committee Robert Harvey. In 1995, in The Return of the Strong, Harvey published his fear that on the tides of ethnic nationalism and economic globalization the world was drifting toward a new crisis. The attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, justified Harveyâs alarm and prompted him to extensively revise and update his analysis of the profound dangers facing western democracy today. Incisive, astute, and brilliantly argued, Global Disorder not only examines the precarious state of world affairs in the aftermath of 9/11 but also offers far-reaching proposals for the reform of global security. After describing the emergence of the United States as the worldâs first megapower in part 1 of this important book, Harvey explores the sources of global instability and international tension in part 2, and then in part 3 lays out the perils inherent in the globalization of capitalism without political control. Finally, in part 4, he presents the necessary short- and long-term reforms in policy and action that the West, especially the United States, must undertake to restore stability around the world and to truly ensure international security.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Very interesting, but poorly organized..., December 26, 2003
Reviewer: slashersfinebooks (see more about me) from Crescent City, Florida United States
This book appears to be a set of individually written and unpublished essays that were later compiled and reordered into book format. The publisher did an absolutely horrible job of editing the book, and it is littered with spelling and grammatical errors, with at least one mistake per two or so pages. Even the back cover excludes words from a quote written by a reviewer of the book that seemingly gives the book a negative light in itself.
The book can be easily read if one were to simply mentally autocorrect such errors and ignore them.
However, the book redeems itself by giving tons upon tons of interesting ideas and pretty good analyses of current global issues. It is highly readable and enjoyable.
Was this review helpful to you?
A Mind Dump With No Compelling Theme, November 20, 2003
Reviewer: Redmund Sum (see more about me) from Los Altos, CA USA
This book has an eye-catching title and the author has considerable credentials. The substance of the book, however, is rather lightweight.
The author presents a great deal of information and analysis on many subjects, from history to religion to nationalism to corporate governance, etc. So, for your money, you get to read a lot, but all without much coherence and with little depth.
Harvey is mildly biased against the United States of America. In some sense his tirades are a good illustration of the adage that your are damned if you do and you are damned if you don't. Harvey criticizes the U.S. military intervention in certain cases, Panama and Grenada, but then he also criticizes the U.S. for not intervening in certain crises, like Bosnia and Rwanda. In fact, there was a "lost decade", according to Harvey, of not sending our troops to maintain order. His thesis seems to be that if the U.S. flexes her military muscles to protect her interests, it was wrong, she should only put her soldiers in harm's way to pacify ethnic fighting and other regional conflicts where she has no political, economic or military stake. Thanks a lot for that advice!
Harvey argued that even though the September 11 attack was the worst single act of terrorism, it was not REALLY bad when put beside of the vast number of people terrorists killed year-in and year-out; in fact it was "a drop in the ocean" (!) compared with the number of civilians killed in Dresden, Tokyo and Hiroshima during WWII. This is how Harvey asks to put matters in perspective.
His bias notwithstanding, Harvey does offer some sobering facts on how America is intensely disliked in some parts of the world, and why, at least according to his reasoning. There is, in fact, not much mystery here. Envy is a powerful human emotion. If the price for not being disliked were for the U.S. to be a loser, I would not care much for it.
The redeeming values of the book are the breadth of subjects covered and a lucid writing style. It is not entirely a waste of time as I do want to get a perspective of the U.S. and the world as seen from a Brit, even though I might not be in total agreement.