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Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos, by Robert D. Kaplan
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“The side that knows when to fight and when not will take the victory. There are roadways not to be traveled, armies not to be attacked, walled cities not to be assaulted.” —Sun-Tzu
We live in dangerous times, when a new kind of leadership is required. Visionary and ruthlessly strategic, Warrior Politics extracts the best of the wisdom of the ages for modern leaders who are faced with the complex life-and-death challenges of today’s world—and determined to win.
Sun-Tzu urges leaders to “plan and calculate like a hungry man.” Machiavelli defines a policy not by its excellence but by its outcome. Churchill derives his greatness from his imagination of history. Livy shows that the vigor to face down adversaries must ultimately come from pride in our own past achievements. “Never mind if they call your caution timidity, your wisdom sloth, your generosity weakness,” he writes. “It is better that a wise enemy should fear you than that foolish friends should praise.” “Men often oppose a thing merely because they have no agency in planning it,” Alexander Hamilton says, “or because it may have been planned by those whom they dislike.”
Replete with maxims, warnings, examples from history, and shrewd recommendations, Warrior Politics wrests from the past the lessons we need to arm ourselves for the present. It offers an invaluable template for any decision-maker—in foreign policy or in business—faced with high stakes and inadequate knowledge of a mine-filled terrain. As we gear ourselves up for a new kind of war, no book is more prescient, more shrewd, or more essential.
- Sales Rank: #371861 in Books
- Brand: Random House
- Published on: 2001-12
- Released on: 2001-12-26
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.43" h x .74" w x 5.56" l,
- Binding: Hardcover
- 224 pages
- Great product!
Amazon.com Review
Robert Kaplan's Warrior Politics is an extended, willfully provocative essay arguing that the bedrock of sound foreign policy should be "comprehensive pragmatism" rather than "utopian hopes." Kaplan calls for a reestablishment of American (primarily) realpolitik, one distanced from Judeo-Christian (or private) virtue and closer to a "pagan" (public) one. He aligns himself with America's Founding Fathers, who, he says, believed good government emerged only from a "sly understanding of men's passions." His book is a mix of aphoristic pronouncements, brief contemporary political analyses, rapid-fire parallels between conflicts ancient and current, and copious quotes from historians and thinkers through the ages (Livy, Thucydides, Sun-Tzu, Machiavelli, and Thomas Hobbes among them). Though its historical gleanings are often too summary and suspiciously convenient, Warrior Politics promises to generate controversy among students of global politics--just as it was designed to do. --H. O'Billovitch
From Publishers Weekly
Years of reporting from combat zones in Bosnia, Uganda, the Sudan, Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Eritrea have convinced Kaplan (Balkan Ghosts, The Coming Anarchy) that Thucydides and Sun-Tzu are still right on the money when they wrote that war is not an aberration and that civilization can repress barbarism but cannot eradicate it. Reminding readers that "The greater the disregard of history, the greater the delusions regarding the future," Kaplan conducts a brisk tour through the works of Machiavelli, Malthus and Hobbes, among others, to support his advocacy of foreign policy based on the morality of results rather than good intentions. From those classics, he extracts historical models and rationales for exploiting military might, stealth, cunning and what he dubs "anxious foresight" (which some may regard as pessimism based on disasters past) in order to lead, fight and bring adversaries to their knees should they challenge the prevailing balance of power. He also adapts this model to business, exploring the ways modern-day CEOs can benefit from history's lessons. Kaplan's discussion of the world's breeding grounds for rogue warriors out to disrupt daily life in bizarre new ways will strike a chord with most readers, as will his recounting of the brilliant statesmanship of Churchill and Roosevelt during World War II. Some readers, however, may take exception to the potshots Kaplan aims at (unnamed) media personalities and human rights advocates. This is a provocative, smart and polemical work that will stimulate lively discussion. Agents, Brandt and Brandt. (Jan.)Forecast: Kaplan's credentials, combined with his call for a strong and unambiguous foreign policy, should draw attention. Blurbs from Henry Kissinger and former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry will help.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Aiming to advise foreign policymakers confronting global capitalism in a politically fragmenting world, Balkan Ghosts author Kaplan surveys the literature of leadership from Herodotus to Gen. George Marshall.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
Not my cup of tea, but I don't regret buying it ...
By B. Alcat
"Warrior politics" is a very well-written book, quite short, and not boring at all. Kaplan believes that our modern world is merely a continuation of the ancient world in many things, and thus capable of taking advantage of lessons already taught by important philosophers and statesmen. There is a quotation at the beginning of this book, near to the title, that somehow sums up Kaplan's idea: "Anyone wishing to see what it is to be must consider what has been: all the things of this world in every era have their counterparts in ancient times" (Machiavelli).
The author delves in an engaging way into the works of Thucydides, Livy, Machiavelli, Hobbes and Churchill, among others. He draws "lessons" from their works, and tries to apply them to the events that were happening in the world more or less at the time this book was first published (2002).
Do you want an example?. Well, for instance Kaplan reminds the reader that Machiavelli said that a policy is virtuous only if it is effective, and he also tells us about the distinction that author made between private virtue and pagan virtue. According to Machiavelli, pagan virtue (pragmatic and merciless, but not amoral) was the kind of virtue that should prevail in matters of the State. After this "theoretic" travel, Kaplan applies the lessons we learn to current affairs... He does this with all the philosophers or statesmen he studies, and it is at that point that I generally don't like his conclusions.
All the same, I want to highlight the fact that I found some of his observations strikingly accurate, especially those regarding military strategy. Kaplan says that even though many believe that war will become more "clean" and less dangerous for the "professional soldiers" thanks to technology, that will not always be the case. In some occasions, professional soldiers will have to face "warriors" who have nothing to lose, and who think in a totally different way. From Kaplan's point of view, USA's strategy will have to adjust to that truth with "warrior politics", because that is a reality that cannot be denied any longer.
Robert Kaplan is far from being an author with whom I agree on everything... As a matter of fact, I dislike many of the conclusions he reaches in "Warrior politics". I think that he ends up placing too much emphasis on the role of force in the international arena, and doesn't give its due importance to "soft power".
Despite that, I don't regret buying this book, because Kaplan makes some points I consider quite interesting. Also, and probably more important, I was so much against some of the statements he made that I ended up thinking why I believed that those statements weren't true. Due to that, now I am more certain of my opinions, and have quite a few reasons to back them.
On the whole, I think that this is the kind of book that "shakes" you, whether you agree with it or not. As a result, it is thought-provoking, and a book I have no problems recommending to you :)
Belen Alcat
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Nothing changes.
By Paul James Harper
I have been a fan of Robert D. Kaplan since I heard him speak on a BBC television documentary entitled "Pulp Future"....This led me to his Atlantic Monthly article "The Coming Anarchy".
I tend to be a bit more optimistic about human nature than Kaplan and a bit more pessemistic about the benevolence of governments. I tend towards the libertarian side of the political divide.
Kaplan's present work is valuable in seeking out common themes that tend to happen repeatedly in history. The book also serves as an introduction to many ancient classics. This is the biggest problem with buying one of Kaplan's books. I end up going through the notes and the excellent bibliography in order to seek out and read from his original sources. This depletes my wallet considerably while continueing to enlighten me!!
I was aware of Kaplan's influence especially with the military. I was a bit surprised by the number of business executives reading his works although he has been a featured author with the Global Business Network bookclub...
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
Study the Past to Prepare for the Future!
By dougrhon
In this little tract which is part philosophy, part history, Robert Kaplan makes the case for a foreign policy based on state interest and not on notions of international law or higher morality. In building his case for a "realpolitik foreign policy" Kaplan utilizes wars and diplomatic maneuvers of the past going as far back as the Peloponisian War. It is his thesis that human nature does not change and the lessons learned more than 2,000 years ago are still applicable today. He also discusses and crtiques a number of political and ethical philosophies. These are presented in a cursory but easily comprehensible way. Kaplan's presentation of Machievelli, Sun Tzu, Thucydides, Hobbes, Kant and others are interesting and fair. He draws very specific conclusions which sometimes seem contradictory. FOr example, Kaplan is highly critical of "determinism" be it of the religious kind he associates with Christianity, the liberal kind which holds that the human condition will inevitably improve, or the ideological kind associated with Marx. On the other hand, he is critical of those who would refuse to observe and pay heed to the lessons of the past in predicting future events. Kaplan saves himself, however, by always qualifying his statements and never espousing absolutes. Kaplan starts from the premise that American style liberalism is a positive that should be expanded. He argues, however, that without political stability, liberalism cannot take hold. In Kaplan's view it is short sighted to insist on elections in a country which would just elect a tyrant. Better to have a benign dictator who can help advance the aims of society. Kaplan's detractors use these views to show that he is not a democrat but a lover of dictatorships. This is not so. Kaplan recognizes the reality that most of the world is not politically or socially mature enough for an American style system. He believes that the United States must promote its own interests, ruthlessly if necessary. Otherwise, we will undermine our ability to ultimately improve world conditions. Thus, Kaplan's philosophy is not the promotion of selfish interests but the pursuit of self-interest for the purpose of ultimately promoting the greater good. Kaplan calls this "Pagan ethos." By this, he simply means a form of Greco-Roman real politik which he observed from reading the works of Thucydides and Livy. Winston Churchill stands as the ultimate "Pagan Leader" and he uses CHurchill's "River War." as an early demonstration of CHurchill's thinking. I found this book to be a fascinating introduction to a lot of philosophical ideas and a new way of looking at a number of important thinkers. I agree with Kaplan's notion that great powers must act, at times ruthlessly, to promote their own interests and that such action is a sign of virtue not evil. A good example is the allied victory in WWII which brought unimaginable suffering to individuals but without a doubt brought about a greater good. I agree with Kaplan that WIlsonian diplomacy based on international law is nothing more than a grand illusion. All diplomacy is about power. The thing I don't agree with is the degree of reliance Kaplan places on the past. There is a lot of difference between the U.S. today and ancient Athens or Rome. We can learn useful lessons from the past but, as Churchill did, we must be wise enough to distinguish the past from the present where warranted. There is an enormous amount of meat in this little book. I have focused here on a few things Kaplan discusses but other reviews have focused on completely different things. This book is thought provoking and worth reading. I recommend it.
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