Conversations With History

For all those interested in why U.S. foreign policy is the way it is, it’s certainly worth checking out. 

Listening to Barnett, I was reminded of a similar grand strategy— that of the Japanese in the first half of the 20th century. 

Although there are some notable differences (e.g., Barett's vision is far more ambitious than that of Imperial Japan, which sought only to unify a "bloc of Asian nations," rather than the entire globe), the "Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere" 大東亜共栄圏 was a similar attempt at "inclusion" under a single center of power.   And last time I checked, Japan's "Co-prosperity Sphere" provided very little prosperity and even less "greatness" for either Japan or those living under its beneficent umbrella, and I venture to guess that Barnett's strategy might be as equally doomed to fail. 

At any rate, the interview offers an interesting look at how the Pentagon currently sees the world and its role in it, so do check it out.