We intervene in Somalia, Haiti, and Kosovo, but not in Sudan, Sierra Leone, or Chechnya. We cut our defense budget, but work our military so hard around the world that they are leaving their profession in droves. We are more affected than ever by events in far corners of the world, but we cut back our embassies and close our consulates our eyes and ears for knowing and understanding what is happening. The current international buzz word is globalization. The world is more interdependent than ever before.
National borders are increasingly porous.
Capital flows, communications, information technology, the environment all are beyond the ability of national governments to control or to protect their peoples from their impact. These are all potentially revolutionary forces, and the political It is indeed a complicated world. Beside these new currents flowing, there are also a number of potentially serious regional problems developing. This is not the occasion for geopolitical analysis, but there is one aspect of our current behavior which is exacerbating all the issues we face. We should be in an enviable position to deal with the contemporary world environment.