World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History

Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2014

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Conclusion

Key Figures

Themes

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

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Chapter 9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 9 Summary: “Technology, Equilibrium, and Human Consciousness”

In the final chapter of World Order, Kissinger addresses the double-edged sword of science and technology by organizing the text into the following categories: “World Order in the Nuclear Age,” “The Challenge of Nuclear Proliferation,” “Cyber Technology and World Order,” “The Human Factor,” and “Foreign Policy in the Digital Era.” On the one hand, science and technology produce innovation, on the other—they can also create weapons that can destroy our entire planet. Kissinger, therefore, addresses the uses of technology as it pertains to international order.

He briefly reviews technological developments in the history of humankind, which sped up during the 19th-century Industrial Revolution. The invention of nuclear weapons in 1945 truly embodied the double-edged sword of innovation and destruction. This fateful invention changed the perception of war: prior to 1945, the benefits were perceived to outweigh the costs. The existence of nuclear weapons raised questions of morality and political power during the Cold War. This was the age of mutually assured destruction:

By the end of the 1960s, the prevailing strategic doctrine of each superpower relied on the ability to inflict an ‘unacceptable’ level of damage on the presumed adversary (333).

In the late 1960s, the two superpowers, the US and the USSR began to discuss arms limitations in the format of the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks, SALT. The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (1972) set limits for the Americans and the Soviets to only two deployment areas of anti-ballistic missiles. Next, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT, was signed in 1968, the goal of which was disarmament. However, the NPT did not stop its signatories such as Syria, Iraq, and Libya from having secret nuclear programs, argues Kissinger.

Kissinger also believes that “technological supremacy turned into geopolitical impotence” (336) as a result of the invention of nuclear weapons. For example, the United States unilaterally pulled out from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam despite being the stronger power in those conflicts. That said, nuclear proliferation is linked to the “perceived willingness of the nuclear country to use its weapons” (338) and act as a deterrent in some cases. Proliferation also affects the balance between nuclear powers and increases the possibility of using such destructive weapons.

After this, the author briefly examines technological advancement in the 21st century: from smart locks and fitness trackers to surveillance cameras. The new global challenge for governments is dealing with these inventions, especially in cyberspace. After all, the Internet is usually ahead of regulations. One particular threat to governments is cyberattacks which can be paralyzing. The author believes that this problem area requires international dialogue based on a common understanding.

Technology, such as the Internet, brings “conflicting, occasionally incompatible value systems into ever closer contact” (355). According to Kissinger, this contact is problematic in crisis situations. For example, the so-called Islamic State used social media to declare a holy war and post footage of beheadings. At the same time, authoritarian governments might fall from protests connected to social networking. If a new truly global order is to arise, then the classic forms of international communication, such as diplomacy, must be fused with technology.

Chapter 9 Analysis

The goal of Kissinger’s detailed examination of regional history and international relations is to forecast the trends that the world might see in the 21st century. One of these trends is the usage of technology for various means—from manufacturing to communication. His two focal points are the weapons sector, especially nuclear weapons, and the field of information and technology. While not a conventional weapon, the latter field might be weaponized in various ways—from presented propagandistic information to cyberattacks.

The question of nuclear weapons is a recurrent theme in Kissinger’s book. First, Kissinger served as a statesman in an age when this was a hotly debated question and the two opponents of the Cold War held several negotiations and signed several relevant treaties, like SALT. He also lived through such events as the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. The crisis occurred when the United States placed missiles in Turkey on Soviet borders, which directly threatened that country’s security. The Soviet side responded in the like by placing missiles in Cuba, which the US interpreted as a direct national security threat as well. Negotiations in the fall of 1962 led to an eventual de-escalation. Historians describe this incident as one of the most dangerous confrontations of the entire Cold War period.

Second, the question of nuclear proliferation remains relevant. Nuclear weapons might fall into the hands of non-state actors endangering the entire world. Kissinger also discussed the nuclear weapons programs of such countries as Iran, which has a very challenging relationship with the United States. At the same time, the United States is the only country in the world that has used nuclear weapons when it bombed Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. The nuclear strikes devastated those two cities, killed numerous civilian victims, and led to illnesses related to radiation exposure. Furthermore, at that point in World War II, it was clear that Japan was about to capitulate. Many historians consider the strikes unnecessary and brutal. Therefore, having the United States, which has used nuclear weapons in a military context, lecture other countries on their nuclear programs, which have not, is often perceived as hypocritical.

Some countries outside the West also see the example of North Korea, which the West often describes as a rogue state. North Korea might have been economically sanctioned, but it also has a widely acknowledged successful nuclear weapons program. Unlike states such as Iraq and Libya, which lacked such weapons and which the Western powers invaded, North Korea remains untouched. Therefore, such examples display the successes of using nuclear weapons as a deterrent, for better or for worse.

Whereas the question of conventional weapons is straightforward, the issue of technology and access is more complex and murkier in comparison. Cyberattacks might be carried out both by enemy states and by non-state actors. Another popular area of debate is the globally accessible social media platforms. Certain more traditional governments, like China, ban access to some Western social media websites to limit access to what they describe as propaganda. Other governments use these platforms to shore up support for their political campaigns. Kissinger believes that “technology is problematic because it increases individual dependence on it as “a facilitator and mediator of thought” (351). These incidents raise more general questions such as those about access to information per se and the manipulation thereof to reach the desired political goals.