The Return of History and the End of Dreams

This is an obvious response to Fukuyama's The End of History. The brief peace the end of the cold war was just a blip as other fources were regrouping. Though the west sees a new world order based on common values, other countries still are seeking "old fashioned" nation building. Autocracies such as China and Russia are seeming a return to their prior heights. They don't share the same values or views on human rights.
(Russia considers itself a "democracy" - it attempts to implement the will of the people, it just does that in an autocratic way.)

Radical Islam is seen as a nonplayer in the global game. It lacks a unity and is looking backwards rather than forwards. The liberation of women is seen as one of the enevitable forces that will eventually lead Islam to join the western liberal democratic fold. (Alas, he fails to observe that as long as this liberation does not take place, these countries will likely still have a high birth rate, thus giving them a significant population advantage.)

America (and Europe) see their views as the best for the world. However, these values are really only those that are best for themselves at the present. While the US may see a
human rights violation, china may just see a sovereign nation exerting it's rights. China, Russia, India and japan also seek to expand their spheres of influence. However, autocracies such as China and Russia have a disadvantage running an autocracy in a time when democracy is increasingly important. This disadvantage does not mean that acceptance of liberal ideals is inevitable. The liberal democracies must continue to fight both the external "battle", as well as internal cleansing of the problems.

One problem that is only skirted in this book is the problem of scale. Liberal democracies thrive in the empowerment of individuals. However, as nations become large, the empowerment and freedom becomes limited. Differing values can also make one man's freedom another's limitation.