Paradise and Power: America and Europe in the New World Order (Paperback)

That, in essence, is the message of this book. It's an old theme. As Walther von der Vogelweide (c. 1160 - 1230) once said, "Might is right." Kagan justifies the unilateral use of power with the argument of the schoolyard bully, "He did it first."

The book is a brief, eloquent and brilliant exposition of the arrogance of American machtpolitik that infuriates Europe and much of the rest of humanity. Kagan explains, East Europeans who lived under dictators understand the imposition of American power; those who were force-fed democracy by the Americans and British after World War II, such as Germany and France, oppose the new American unilateralism.

Kagan skillfully outlines how, during the Cold War, Europe relied on American power to safeguard their freedom. When nations entrust others to defend their freedom, which is basically the meaning of the American nuclear deterrent, it's hardly surprising that one country becomes all-powerful and others atrophy into paper weasels.

The book is clearly relevant to the current war in Iraq, and Kagan asserts, "Had Al Gore been elected, and had there been no terrorist attacks on September 11, these programs -- aimed squarely at Bush's 'axis of evil' -- would still be underway."

Great Britain is now the only European nation with a lion's heart, as the Falklands' war showed. France, under De Gaulle, built a "force de frappe" merely to bolster their self-esteem ("frappe" translates as "milkshake"). Kagan makes the point, "The American nuclear guarantee deprived Europeans of the incentive to spend the kind of money that would have been necessary to restore them to military great-power status."

It wasn't risk-free. Rather than retreat to a Fortress America, Kagan says, "It was American military strategy to risk nuclear attack upon its otherwise unthreatened homeland in order to deter both nuclear and conventional attacks on European and Asian allies."

Americans expect gratitude and support for taking such risks. Now, and this is especially true after Sept. 11, 2001, America views the world as threatened by an immoral Hobbesian chaos which must be tamed by decisive military force. Kagan says Europeans have an "emphasis on negotiation, diplomacy, and commercial ties, on international law over the use of force, on seduction over coercion, on multilateralism over unilateralism.

"Who knows better than Europeans the dangers that arise from unbridled power politics, from an excessive reliance on military force, from policies produced by nationbal egoism and ambition, even from balance of power and raison d'etat?" Kagan asks.

Kagan bases his views on practical experience, including four years in the State Department under President Ronald Reagan. He is now director of the 'U.S. Leadership Project' at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

In contrast to the current policies, which are more blunt but otherwise quite similar to Clinton policies, he thinks America should remember some words from the Declaration of Independence and show a "decent respect for the opinion of mankind."

"But, after all, it is more than a cliché that the United States and Europe share a set of common Western beliefs. Their aspirations for humanity are much the same, even if their vast disparity of power has now put them in very different places. Perhaps it is not too naively optimistic to believe that a little common understanding could still go a long way," he concludes.

Ten years ago, Francis Fukuyama declared history was over. This book shows history is a phoenix arising from the ashes of such irrational exuberance.

This book opens up a hornets' nest of ideas. Kagan succinctly describes the growing rift between America and Europe, but leaves the reader to decide who is wrong and what might be done to correct the imbalance. Do we really want a Europe powerful enough to challenge America? Do we really want a continuing imbalance of power? Can gentle words tame an opportunistic dictator? Is the status quo acceptable? How can nations limit the powerful?

Kagan deftly outlines the problem. He's very unAmerican in not offering a unilateral solution. He leaves it to readers who like to think to consider the alternatives.