Book Review: The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan
Book Review: The Return of History and the End of Dreams by Robert Kagan

Summary/Abstract: The author of the book – none other than the famous ‘radical conservative’ historian and foreign policy analyst and commentator (most readers might remember his statement about Europe coming from Venus and America from Mars) – has presented something we can call a ‘post post-Cold War’ reflection on the macro-geopolitical situation after the seeming, temporary (?) decline of US security and defense policy ambitions following the Afghan and Iraq interventions and the heavy rift in transatlantic relations. The text – however fresh and scholarly excellent – cannot conceal the fact away from the famous celebrity, which is the ideological rebel Robert Kagan. In his study he has scrutinized ideals and idealistic perceptions after the end of the Cold War against the overoptimistic dogma of the ‘end of history’, ‘new beginning’, ‘new era’, ‘new start’, ‘new deal’ in international relations (admittedly, the author has not necessarily used all these very terms explicitly).

• Details
• Contents