History Strikes Back

This translation of the French bestseller Continuer l’Histoire brings the powerful, articulate message of Hubert Védrine to an even wider audience. With the astute analysis and acerbic wit for which he is famous, the former French foreign minister offers an overview of world politics since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Critical of both the United States and Europe, he calls for a return to a more realist foreign policy, rejecting the ideological notions of recent years. In s tory Strikes Back: How States, Nations, and Conflicts Are Shaping the 21st Century, , Védrine takes issue with idealists who believe that states are no longer necessary and that globalization and free markets will automatically make a better world for all. Far from having ended, history continues to present major challenges. When the Eastern bloc collapsed, the West was quick to believe that it had won the battle of history and that its values would prevail everywhere. The ensuing years have belied that faith, however. In dealing with a newly multipolar world, Americans have been too bellicose and Europeans naïve. Védrine shows why Westerners need to discard the illusions that have guided their international relations for more than twenty years. He presents a realistic vision for building a better world and spells out what Europeans expect from the U.S. administration to come. The United States and Europe must partner for a new form of “smart Realpolitik” to guide their relations with emerging powers, manage globalization, and deal with environmental challenges.

Hubert Védrine was the French minister of foreign affairs from 1998 to 2002. He is the coauthor (with Dominique Moisi) of France in an Age of Globalization (English edition by Brookings, 2001). Philip H. Gordon is a senior fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy at the Brookings Instituion and the translator of numerous works, including France in an Age of Globalization. Madeleine Albright was U.S. secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. Her most recent book is Memo to the President Elect: How We Can Restore America's Reputation and Leadership (Harper, 2008).