Reviews of Security First

FDR's Children, by Nikolas K. Gvosdev, National Interest
"In Security First, Etzioni argues that the United States would be well served digesting the "Libya Lesson" — Muammar Qaddafi's willingness to give up his nuclear - and chemical-weapons components and end his support for terrorist groups in return for reintegration into the international system as a legitimate member of the family of nations. "There is little to be lost and much to be gained by providing security guarantees and other rewards in exchange for vigorous and verified deproliferation and an end to harboring, financing and equipping terrorists," he observes."
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Learning the hard lessons from Iraq, by John Bruton, Indepedent.ie
Given the present debate in the US on withdrawal from Iraq, the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and the continuing determination of the Bush government to foster democracy in the region, this is an important and timely book. Etzioni, who is now a professor of International Relations and a leader of the Communitarian Movement was Professor of Sociology at Columbia for 20 years, has been an advisor to the White House in the past and is regarded as one of America's leading intellectuals.
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Forget Iran and North Korea -- Worry Instead About Russia and Pakistan, by Matthew Cole, The New York Observer

Amitai Etzioni's uneven but thoughtful book was clearly written as a policy position for the 2008 Presidential hopefuls. To his credit, he prescribes a new, forward-looking American foreign policy for all 18 candidates from both parties. One of Richard Posner's top 100 American intellectuals, Mr. Etzioni stresses that he wears neither party's ideological cloak, and instead seeks a policy that's at once moral and practical.

Security First begins with the assumption that the neocon worldview has led to foreign-policy and humanitarian disasters in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The post-9/11 foreign policy advocated by the Bush administration is an almost complete failure in Mr. Etzioni?s view, but not just because of its immoral rationale for the invasion of Iraq. The George Washington University professor presumes that "foreign powers cannot democratize and modernize a nation like Afghanistan in the foreseeable future." Instead, America and the other powerful nations of the world should...
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Andrei Grachev, Former spokesman of President Mikhail Gorbachev

Dear Amitai,
I am sorry for not having written to you earlier after I have received your book. There is an explanation (though not an excuse). Because of my teaching assignments it took me more time than I expected to go with my pencil through your book which required very attentive reading. Besides since as I understood that you wanted also to get Gorbachev's comments to it (and the man doesn't read English) I had to wait for the occasion to give him my resume of it and share with him my personal impressions. So what I am now writing is the summary of the comments that reflect also his reaction though I am afraid you cannot use his name as a signature.
Regards,
Andrei Grachev

This book is a success because it is both profound and timely. It presents an extremely necessary analysis of the present world scene that organically combines academic solidity, innovating practical ideas and passionate presentation. It is also an example of intellectual courage since Etzioni doesn't evade any of the hard and embarrassing questions posed by the contradictory chronicle of the modern world most of which have hardly been addressed and still less answered in a convincing way.

It is a success also because it can be useful - read by decision-makers it may serve as the intellectual springboard for the new generation of politicians in the Western world and particularly in the US. In fact in the last decades the American policy was caught in a self-built trap: it oscillated between the euphoria of the Happy End of History that was announcing the venue of a world of Pax Americana and the nightmare of the self fulfilling prophecy of the Clash of Civilizations (to which the action of the US in Iraq has unfortunately largely contributed). The result of this simplification became the dangerous separation of the foreign policy of the only world's superpower from the controversial reality of the modern times and the counterproductive effect of its practical action.

Etzioni's book brings us on the ground of today's world. It reminds that the building of the new world order after the end of the Cold War and the tragedy of 9/11 should be envisaged as a staged process with security assured for states and citizens across the world as its founding element. It stresses that answering the new challenges to security needs triage of targets and setting of priorities. It reminds that the danger of nuclear terrorism and dissemination of the WMD (first of all Nuclear arms) is by far the number one concern. That is why according to Etzioni deproliferation should be proposed as THE basic rational and sane perspective guaranteeing not only the indispensable level of the international peace but the survival of humanity in the future.

In order to be effective the New World Architecture would have to be based on the intertwining of hard and soft power and should repose both on the moral and international legal legitimacy. The same would be required for the process of democracy building which should follow the staged process and normally list assuring of security among its basic "facilitating factors" if not a precondition. Etzioni is right when he notes that the understanding of sovereignty as a responsibility provides a promising path for the overcoming of the rigid (and largely outdated in the modern world) Westphalian imperative. Here again the necessity not only to justify but also to legitimize the use of external hard power or outside interference should not be ignored or forgotten.

Preachers as Etzioni calls not only liberal reformers but also "illiberal moderates" have all the reason to be encouraged and supported versus Warriors. What probably should be taken into consideration is that between the two the borders are not fixed once and for all and that by applying patient and constant outside influence you may obtain to have the Warriors (at least some) transformed into Preachers. (Unfortunately the opposite may also happen). This is why the more representatives of political elites (acting and future, West or East) read Etzioni's book the more there will be chances to see Preachers across the world grow in numbers and influence. And this seems to be the main wish of the author.
-- Dr. Andrei Grachev, Former spokesman of President Mikhail Gorbachev, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the World Political Forum

"Etzioni’s argument is a breath of fresh air in the current debate. Compared to most of his colleagues on the left, he is both more hard-headed about security and more understanding of the critical role of religion and moral culture in maintaining social order without violence. This book is a must read."
--Henry Nau, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at the Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University

"Etzioni offers a far ranging alternative perspective for the formulation and conduct of U.S. foreign policy. Security First offers to be an outstanding and important work."
--James J. Wirtz, Department of National Security Affairs at the Naval Postgraduate School

"After foreign policy disasters from Rwanda to 9-11 to the Iraq War, alternatives to realist, liberal, and neoconservative shibboleths are desperately needed. Learned but accessible, sweeping yet detailed, Security First offers a distinctive approach that can help America forge a new path."
--Clifford Bob, author of The Marketing of Rebellion: Insurgents, Media, and International Activism, Winner of the 2007 International Studies Best Book Award

"An important, must-read book for the rising leadership in the United States, as it prepares for the crucial 2008 elections, a time for a change from the status quo, and for America’s friends around the world."
--Shuja Nawaz, former Division Chief, International Monetary Fund, former Director, International Atomic Energy Agency, and author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan and its Army

ARTICLE: "Etzioni Puts Security Before Elections"
The professor and public intellectual Amitai Etzioni practices the Socratic method at UCLA, arguing for a foreign policy that proceeds from the human right to be free from harm.
By Christine Larson

We don't deliver.
Handheld cameras turned out in force, along with about 20 people, for an April 25, 2007, talk by the public intellectual and international relations specialist Amitai Etzioni, who teaches at George Washington University. Etzioni was introduced by former Burkle Center Director Michael Intriligator, a UCLA professor of economics, political science and public policy. The Burkle Center sponsored the event.
Having spent the past three years writing "Security First: For a Muscular, Moral Foreign Policy" (Yale, 2007), Etzioni visited campus to discuss the book's message — a call for a revision of U.S. priorities in foreign policy. Etzioni asked as many questions as he answered, and audience members returned his deference and respect in their questions. He sat on a table in front of the speaker's podium, announcing a preference for dialogue.
"First of all," he said, "people want security." They want to leave their homes in the morning without the fear of being kidnapped or shot on their way to work. In societies where such fears are confronted on a daily basis, the desire for basic security takes precedence over whether or not a state holds democratic elections. Etzioni's "security first" prototype holds that the basic human right not to be "killed, maimed, or tortured" should be at the forefront of foreign policy.
Referring to ongoing violence in Afghanistan and Iraq, Etzioni noted, "We don't deliver."He noted that successful democratization is possible; however, it is a process that needs to be slowly introduced if it is to succeed. A society first has to be convinced of the benefits of democratic institutions. "You cannot democratize countries on demand," he said. "I am tired of criticizing Bush," Etzioni stated. He said he prefers to pose a series of questions, beginning with, "What do we do next?"
Burkle Center for International Relations --- Date Posted: 5/21/2007

"Amitai Etzioni argues that our international problems are largely self-inflicted. And he sees good news in this finding, to the extent that many of our problems admit of a solution. We are suffering, he argues, from a severe form of realism deficiency disorder. Etzioni uses the term “realism” not in a Freudian sense, nor in a Realpolitik sense. Given that it is much easier (albeit far from easy) to learn to face reality than to change reality—Etzioni shows that there is cause for optimism for the post-Bush world.
First of all, despite multiple terrorist attacks, we are not involved in a clash of civilizations. Etzioni presents considerable evidence to show that most Muslims are moderate people who oppose violence. For those who are quick to argue that this may be true but only of non-Arabs, he presents data to show that most Palestinians, for example, also seek a peaceful solution with Israel. Many may have voted for Hamas, but they did so because of its attention to social services and its integrity, as opposed to the corrupt Fatah party. (He points to similar data for several other Arab nations.) That is, most Muslims are on our side of what Etzioni calls the “true fault line”—the divide between those who rely on violence and those who favor peaceful coexistence—in contrast to the way in which Bernard Lewis and Samuel Huntington divide the “West” and “the rest,” a worldview that gained much following after 9/11.
One major reason many believe the Muslim world is so problematic is that we have bought lock, stock, and barrel into another unrealistic theory, namely, that we ought to make the world safe by promoting democracy. Such a theory argues that the world is trending towards democracy and that we should give history a helping hand; after all, this theory holds, many of our most reliable allies are liberal democracies.
Etzioni shows that genuine liberals are in reality few and far between in most of the world. Hence if we approach the world seeking only liberals as allies, we shall find few. On the other hand, if we set out in search of moderates, we shall find many more partners. He uses the spat over the Danish cartoons to illustrate his point. Most Muslims were offended by the cartoons and—given half a chance—would ban them, and generally limit free speech, a key liberal tenet. However, at the same time, most Muslims opposed violent reactions to the publication. Similarly, the U.S.’s efforts to get Afghanistan and Iraq to introduce the separation of mosque and state and to grant full-blown women’s rights in their constitutions are unrealistic, and delayed what must be done: providing security first. Etzioni draws from this analysis one of his major policy recommendations: in places like Iraq and Afghanistan we should help provide law and order, but otherwise leave it to the people of these nations to hammer out the details of their political systems.
Etzioni applies the same “Security First” thesis to international relations. He sees Libya as a test case for such a foreign policy. Libya turned moderate in security terms when it disgorged its WMD program and ceased supporting terrorism. However, it continues to be a highly illiberal nation. Surely one would prefer for Libya to become a liberal democracy. However for now it is viewed as satisfying first-order international needs. Instead of condemning Libya, as human rights groups demand, we should hold it up as a model for other hostile nations. Surely if North Korea and Iran followed the Libya model, we would be dancing in the streets. Democratization and liberalization should be considered as a Stage II development, following focus on security.
Another aspect of the current, unrealistic U.S. worldview is the often-implicit but widely held belief in the West that the world is increasingly secularizing as it modernizes, and that the U.S. should only support secular leaders, programs, and initiatives abroad. Etzioni cites a court case that bans USAID from spending money on religious education programs abroad, and he describes conversations with State Department officials who are very wary about working with religious groups overseas. Etzioni, in contrast, sees moderate but religious Muslims (and other believers) as the best antidotes to radical ones. He compares the situation to the Cold War, in which the U.S. found that the best antidote to communists were other social democrats, and not necessarily conservatives. He provides a list of specific measures that can be undertaken in this regard, including bringing moderate mullahs from Indonesia and Bangladesh to places such as Afghanistan and southern Iraq.
The lack of realism in U.S. foreign policy is particularly evident in the ways we grossly misjudged our capacity to engage in social engineering and post-war reconstruction abroad. Etzioni draws on his sociological training and research to show that a foreign policy that presumes we can turn nation after nation into “shining, prosperous democracies” is as unrealistic as the presumption that we can “reconstruct” post-conflict nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq if we just turned that mission over to civilians or had such missions handled by the State Department rather than the Pentagon. Etzioni, to the contrary, argues that we must realize that democracy is a delicate plant that grows slowly, only after the ground is well prepared, and best prepared by those in whose garden it is being grown.
The U.S. can help prepare the ground for democratization but not deliver it ready made or rush it along. Among the steps that he calls for is to engage, rather than isolate, totalitarian regimes (compare, for example, U.S. policy towards Cuba, North Korea, Iran, and Saddam’s Iraq, to U.S. policy towards China and the USSR). He shows that when societies open up to U.S. travel, investment, and international communication, these all erode the power of totalitarian regimes and eventually open the door to democratization.
Etzioni’s most unusual and compelling argument is that U.S. foreign policy is based on a misunderstanding of the basic elements that make up a good society. A good society is not one merely centered on individual liberty, rights, democracy, and free markets—all individualizing elements. A good society also nurtures a strong social order by drawing primarily on a shared moral culture and informal social controls. He finds that the reason practically all newly liberated societies, from Russia to Iraq, exhibit high levels of antisocial behavior (including drastic increases in crime and drug use), is that they need help not so much in liberalizing as in replacing their former police states with the kind of social order that plays a key (albeit often invisible) moralizing role in free societies.
When moral culture and informal social controls collapse, radicalism rises. It is unrealistic to treat radicalism as a childhood disease of modernization, as Francis Fukuyama has suggested. If a moral vacuum persists, so will radicalism. Here Etzioni returns to his theme about the importance of religion in our foreign policy, as it can serve as a major source of moral culture for failing and newly liberated states.
All said and done, the more we realize that our major international challenges are smaller in scope than widely held, that we have many more potential allies than we sometimes presume, and that it is foolish to try to democratize the world on the run, the sounder our foreign policy will be.
Although many see realism as counter to a moral stand, Etzioni argues that the realistic approach he promotes both contains values in its own right and champions still others. His realism aims to avoid the cynicism and distrust that result when nation after nation is promised democratization and economic development to no avail. Moreover his realism allows us to see that the people of the world have other yearnings and commitments than the various liberties cherished by the West. They seek to nurture interpersonal and communal bonds, and spiritual and religious values.
The book reflects that Etzioni is a social scientist and hence his book is more evidence-driven than based on theories of international relations (which are at the root of several other books on the world after Bush). His book is also more future-oriented than some others. Most importantly, in contrast to several books that reflect the good wishes and daydreams of their authors, Etzioni’s work is grounded in the reality which cannot be ignored as we seek to advance values dear to all of us."
--Nicholas Wheeler, Research Assistant, The Institute for Communitarian Policy Studies, The George Washington University

Reviews of Other Books by Amitai Etzioni

Below are comments from various world leaders and scholars about Amitai Etzioni's previous book, From Empire to Community: A New Approach to International Relations.

Luis Ernesto Derbez, Secretary of Foreign Relations for Mexico
"The establishment of a global order of coexistence is the XXI Century['s] great call. 'From Empire to Community: A New Approach to International Relations' gives testimony of the current construction process of a new form of collective identity and solidarity in search for peace, security, prosperity and the well-being of the community of nations, in accordance with the axes of legitimacy of the right to be different, equality, mutual respect, tolerance and pluralism. In this exciting book, Amitai Etzioni invites the reader to break the lethargy associated with routine and to take an active role in the economic, political, social and cultural transformations of our time."
"El establecimiento de un orden de convivencia global es el gran llamado del Siglo XXI. "From Empire to Community: A New Approach to International Relations" da testimonio del actual proceso de construccion de una nueva forma de indentidad y solidaridad colectivas en busca de la paz, la seguridad, la prosperidad y el bienestar de la comunidad de las naciones, con base en los ejes de legitimidad del derecho a ser diferentes, la igualdad, el respeto mutuo, la tolerancia y el pluralismo. En esta incitante obra, Amitai Etzioni invita al lector a romper el letargo de la cotidianeidad y ser parte activa de las transformaciones economicas, politicas, sociales y culturales de nuestro tiempo."

Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
"Amitai Etzioni has constructed a coherent communitarian vision of international relations. 'From Empire to Community' is a pioneering work of vital importance to the formation of a new way of international thinking, relevant to policy makers on both sides of the Atlantic. Safeguarding global goods such as security, human rights and environmental protection is becoming increasingly vital in this era of globalization. Amitai Etzioni's new book offers us an inspiring example of the out-of-the-box thinking that is needed to confront these challenges. Etzioni brings new diplomatic challenges into focus and launches a crucial debate about the sort of world we are leaving to future generations and how we can best manage problems and grasp opportunities, in ways that are deemed legitimate by both American and European societies."

Joseph S. Nye, author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics
"In 'From Empire to Community,' Amitai Etzioni applies his communitarian approach to international affairs and foreign policy, attacking liberals to his left and neo-conservatives to his right. He offers a provocative and thoughtful alternative to the triumphalism that has dominated recent discussions about the future of American foreign policy."

Khaled Abou el Fadl, professor, UCLA Law School
"This book is a true jewel...to be read and examined again and again. This is a must read!"

G. John Ikenberry, political and legal book reviewer, Foreign Affairs
"In this sweeping vision of an emerging world community, Etzioni, a distinguished sociologist and leading communitarian thinker, lays out a world order that charts a path between power-oriented realism and law-oriented liberalism. It is a vision in which U.S. power is closely tied to a wider global community infused with shared values and bolstered by legitimate institutions of governance."

Martin Walker, Editor of English Operations, United Press International
"Amitai Etzioni is one of the most valuable of public intellectuals because he is constantly engaged in the real world of politics...The relationship of this emerging system with the United Nations is tricky. Etzioni sees the [U.N.]...as 'a legitimator, a major source of soft power...(But) we should not overlook the fact that the U.N., without the hard power of the U.S. and others is often ineffectual. By itself, the U.N. is not even the beginning of a world government. However, in conjunction with the powers that be, it can be. There is much evidence to suggest that an increased measure of global governance is not only badly needed, but also slowly evolving.' This is a genuinely interesting and original idea....."

Lee H. Hamilton, Vice Chair of the 9-11 Commission
"'From Empire to Community' is a sweeping and thought-provoking blueprint that gets at many of the key issues of our time. Etzioni's communitarian approach adds a fresh dimension to the dialogue on international relations."

Per Stig Moller, Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs
"For anyone concerned about the new global challenges and the current implacable trends in international politics and for those preoccupied with how we can bring about the needed fundamental progress, Etzioni's book is a refreshing contribution of daring thoughts, wisdom, and common sense. By contrasting and blending familiar and well-known institutions with new or exotic concepts, ideas and notions, Etzioni offers new and useful insights. Here, reality is round - not square, and its constituent elements complementary rather than conflicting. It is Thomas Paine conversing with Confucius that comes to one's mind. But the book is vibrantly topical. It underlines the need of the legitimating United Nations also to seek hard power to enforce its resolutions. As an echo of Kant's 'Perpetual Peace,' Etzioni leads us to the 'good society' based on both the Western legal tradition and social duties deriving from moral suasion. Etzioni is a bridge-builder by the grace of God."

Rabbi Professor Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth
"In recent years, Amitai Etzioni has been the most powerful and persuasive voice for the human values that can only be cultivated in community. In this new and compelling analysis, he extends his work to the international arena. Few books have spoken more eloquently to the heart of our shared humanity, and in an age of global tension, few have been more necessary. Essential reading for all those concerned with our ever more fragile social ecology."

Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter
"A thoughtful and timely examination of some of the fundamental issues that modern society confronts."

Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
"In this timely and provocative book, Professor Etzioni offers a rich compendium of insights and ideas. His vision of a potential East-West synthesis is particularly compelling. Better still, he is not afraid to tackle the very real challenge of creating genuine institutions to govern a potential global polity. A valuable read for anyone interested in the future of global governance."

Adam Kirsch, book critic, The New York Sun
"Mr. Etzioni' s book raises more questions than it answers, but those questions are important and provocative. In our dangerous and discouraging world, speculating about the future of global government is itself an optimistic act - and possibly, as Mr. Etzioni argues, a justified one."

Leon Fuerth, former National Security Advisor to Vice President Al Gore
"Professor Etzioni's new book 'From Empire to Community' delivers on its promise of 'A new approach to international relations.' There is a wonderful quality to his thinking, such that the visionary and the pragmatic, the very long range and the issues of the moment are all represented, all related, and often (though not always) reconciled in a new synthesis. It is especially refreshing to find that when Professor Etzioni finds that reality will not mesh with theory, facts are acknowledged rather than swept under the rug. This book is not about dogma: it is about the hopeful possibility that an evolving and expanding sense of common need among peoples and nations can with luck and vision, bring about a knitting together of a form of global governance that would permit humankind to address its most urgent issues more effectively: with less sovereign authority for national states as we have known them, but greater freedom, combined with enhanced responsibility for people as individuals and as communities. Professor Etzioni's easy style of writing - clear, elegant but never pretentious - makes the book a pleasure to read: not just an intellectual obligation."