Grand Strategies by Charles Hill offers some interesting
insights into the building of nations and their relations to each other. The
understanding of current states requires delving into the historical past.
Without this knowledge one suffers from an improper perspective due to a lack
of international context. Through the development of this philosophical
perspective readers better understand how thoughts led to the development of a
nation and modern forms of existence.
The work uses philosophy and history to create an
interesting read that will maintain your interest from cover to cover. Filled
with philosophical ramblings, poetry and historical tidbits the book appears to
be well researched and thought out. The state of diplomacy between nations is
rift with drama and intrigue ranging from the odd to the downright ludicrous.
In many ways the fear of government and its very purpose is
the protection of people. This protection might come from foreign nations but
might also come in the form of protecting ourselves from each other. Government
is a product of need and thought that impacts the very manners in which we
live. Such government is not perfect but is on a plane of development from one
historical point to another.
The book discusses how our chaotic tribal past created a
world order from the Treaty of Westphalia. It is through this world order that
nations and states have developed, existed, and inter-relate to each other.
Threats to this order come in varying forms ranging from historical conflicts
to new one’s experienced in modern religious conflict.
The book discusses classical orders as seen in stories of
Homer, Aeschylus, and Virgil. It moves into concepts of creative disorder from
the likes of Hugo and Shakespeare. It discusses the sources of world order, the
Enlightenment, America, and modern conflict. The poem The Ocean to Cynthia by
Ralegh helps to understand American existence from the love of the old to the
novelty of the new:
To seeke new worlds, for golde, for
prayse, for glory,
To try to desire, to try love severed
farr,
When I was gonn she sent her memory
More strange than were ten thousand
shipps of war
To call mee back, to leve great honor
thought,
To leve my friends, my fortune, my
attempte
To leve the purpose I so longe had sought
And hold bothe cares, and comforts in
contempt.
To Hill literature gives a key to understanding statecraft. By covering
historical literature he is also giving readers a keen understanding of the
world and its development. Such literature provides the backdrop to why we
think the way we do and the reasons we exist in the world in which we do. It is
a deep and insightful book that is written at a graduate level. For those who
need resources there are plenty available.
Hill, C. (2010). Grand
Strategies: Literature, Statecraft, and World Order. London: Yale
University Press.
ISBN: 978-0-300-17133-4
Pages: 368
Price: $15
Blog Ranking: 4.3
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