Jasmine Tillu
History 151 Prof Robert Schwartz
February 3, 2003
Article Summary
The article entitled “America in History: Realists Don’t Buy the Wilson Lane” by William Pfaff discusses the American proposition that America needs to continue to be the dominating hegemonic power for the world in the future. This idea is popular with some groups in Washington, although it is not received well by the international community. In a recent international meeting, other countries argued that the hegemony proposition is related to a debate about whether the goal of America’s foreign policy and hegemony should be the promotion of democracy to countries that are not democratic. Americans believe that this should be the case because democracy leads to stability and peace while others believe that a good outcome is only possible when social institutions and values systems are present. Even within Washington there is debate about whether the United States should increase their power in the future, compelling other countries to “do what they are told, and putting down challenges to American domination.” Towards the end of the article, Pfaff brings up the idea that the United States has competition (Europe), and that their history with other countries and that history in general is a “tragic affair.” Because America has much historical optimism and a deep belief in progress, they may never realize the reality of their history, and their reality of not being the hegemonic power of the future.
The second article “A Century of Building Blocks for the New Europe” by Fritz Stern discusses the how the history of Europe has shaped and is related to the “new Europe.” Stern describes some past events and how they have learned from them. Europe used to have great nationalist rivalries that resulted in war; Now, Europe understands that the only way they can get ahead in the world is to integrate itself and unite individual countries within the huge continent. Although the war within European countries has diminished, other troubles and threats have arisen such as crime and terrorism. Stern stresses the Europe’s past and describes that leaders of today are too concerned with present influences, such as the media, and do not give enough attention to the past to know the “truth” to help build a better new Europe.