The Breaking of Nations - by Robert Cooper (Paperback)

About the Book

Cooper shows that the greatest question facing postmodern states is how they should deal with a world in which missiles and terrorists ignore borders and where Cold War alliances no longer guarantee security.

Book Synopsis

An essential contribution to the dialogue on how civilized countries survive in an uncivilized world, Robert Cooper sets out his radical new interpretation of the new international order that has emerged from the debris of communism.
In The Breaking of Nations, Cooper shows that the greatest question facing post-modern states is how they should deal with a world in which missiles and terrorists ignore borders and where Cold War alliances no longer guarantee security. He argues that when dealing with a hostile outside enemy, civilized countries need to revert to tougher methods from an earlier era-force, pre-emptive attack, deception-if we are to safeguard peaceful coexistence throughout the civilized world. He also advocates a doctrine of liberal imperialism that advocates that post-modern states have a right to intervene in the affairs of modern and pre-modern states if they pose a significant enough threat.
The Breaking of Nations is essential reading for a dangerous age, a cautionary tale for superpowers, and a prescient examination of international relations in the twenty-first century.

Review Quotes

"Cooper does not offer a single organizing idea, but rather a wealth of historical parallels and conceptual distinctions pithily expressed.... He is a pro-American, pro--United Nations, pro-European who is for multilateral diplomacy if it is possible and war when necessary."

About the Author

Robert Cooper is one of Britain's most senior diplomats. He is Head of the Defense and Overseas Secretariat in the Cabinet Office and former British ambassador to Bonn. He is also Tony Blair's special advisor of foreign affairs.