After the Neocons

Francis Fukuyama
After the Neocons

Fukuyama does his best to show how neoconservatism was used incorrectly by the Bush administration. It is unlikely they understood neoconservatism at all.

The beginning of the book is actually very interesting as Fukuyama goes through the different people who have formulated neoconservatism. It is informative for anyone who doesn't know that much about neoconservatism.

The rest of the book is about Fukuyama's ideas how to improve the international system.

The United Nations is an ineffective organisation that gives the podium to various dictators. There is not much one can do to save the organisation. NATO, on the other hand, is better because its members are liberal democracies. All that is needed to improve the organisation is to make changes in its decision making mechanisms.

Fukuyama is rightly critical of international organisations. However, as he points out the Bush administration and its neoconservative supporters were hostile towards international organisations. But the Bush administration did not offer any options how to improve the situation. Which obviously is not a helpful attitude.

Fukuyama also has this radical idea that development might be a better option than to blast problems away with high explosives. Indeed, why not try to use diplomacy and developmet and try to help less developed states in the road towards democracy.