Cultural Internationalism and World Order
Akira Iriye discusses the origins of what he calls 'cultural internationalism' and the tensions that arose in the countervailing forces of nationalism prior to both World Wars. To prevent a resurgence of the militarism of cultural nationalists, which has wrecked such havoc in this century, he makes a compelling argument about the need to tear down cultural walls rather than build them up.(International Journal)Iriye argues that the traditional understanding of international relations as competition for power and wealth, and the consequent shunting aside of cultural issues as a matter for woolly-headed idealists, needs to be rethought. His history of cultural internationalism—that is, the attempt to build cultural understanding, cooperation, and a sense of shared values across national borders through student exchanges, lectures, and the like—shows that it has been a constant feature of twentieth-century international relations.(Foreign Affairs)Iriye has added a quiet (and overdue) polemic for liberal values. He forces us to consider the importance of environmentalists, journalists, students, artists, scholars, and musicians who flow between cultures, mitigating the rhetoric of national leaders and the menacing accumulation of troops and arms.(Times Higher Education Supplement)