Richard Haass, The World: A Brief Introduction

By Amber Abdul and Tara Wirtschoreck

“Three thousand people lost their lives. But I was also the US envoy to the Northern Ireland Peace Process and as a result found myself in Dublin at the time.”

— Richard Haass 

A New York Times bestseller, The World: A Brief Introduction by Richard Haass, focuses on the modern challenges of globalization and how influential countries, events, and ideas shape the world. Haass wrote The World to fill in what he views as a gap in America’s public knowledge about international relations as a result of the lack of IR curriculum requirements for college and high school students. Written in an engaging format for this reason, readers are likely to find Haass’ views on globalization intriguing, especially since it is unclear in academia whether it hurts or helps countries that are integrated in world politics and economies on the whole. 

The World is split into four sections which give the reader what Haass deems necessary information to be globally literate. The first section covers world history from 1618 to modern times, with more detailed information as he nears modern times. Though none of the information in this section is particularly detailed, Haass manages to condense over 400 years of history in under 60 pages in a way that is easily comprehensible. The second section describes each of the regions of the world, providing an overview of region-specific conflicts, challenges, and successes, as well as the history that led up to the current state of each region.. The third section, which covers globalization and its challenges, is the longest and most detailed: Haass describes the challenges and possible solutions for terrorism, nuclear proliferation, climate change, the internet, global health, international trade, and monetary policy. The fourth section describes the modern-day world order and the extent to which the world is in a state of disorder. He also evaluates factors that contribute to order or disorder, including alliances, war, economic interdependence, and global governing systems such as the United Nations. The World gives the reader an evolutionary understanding of globalization up until the modern age; simplifying a chronology of how we got to where we are today.

One of the main arguments of The World is that countries are not ready to face the challenges that globalization presents. Haass argues that governance concerning critical areas such as climate change and cyberspace has consistently diverged from public opinion, highlighting an important disconnect in the current approach to multi-stakeholder issues. (Haass, 273). Haass also notes that the world is largely unable to make meaningful environmental protection policies due to the extreme difficulties of enforcing emission reductions globally. It should be noted that there is a slight pessimistic ring to Haass’ evaluation of globalization. Haass thus indicates that globalization causes a variety of coordination challenges among countries that already display great skepticism towards being able to overcome issues such as climate change in the first place. 

Another argument Hass makes is that the solution to these challenges is to reinforce the United States as a unipolar power—a global policeman. He argues that the U.S. must reclaim its Cold War era role and counter non-democratic countries such as Russia and China to enforce a liberal, democratic-based world order. Haass writes that “this liberal world order is now fraying, [which is] the result of a decline in the U.S.’s relative power and its growing unwillingness to play its traditional role in the world, a rising and increasingly assertive China, and a Russia determined to play the role of the spoiler” (Haass, 297). Haass believes that certain global security challenges are exacerbated because of the U.S.’s perceived security weakness on the global stage. Take America’s vulnerability to terrorism, for example: in the wake of 9/11, the U.S was unable to keep the Taliban from taking control of Afghanistan, and lacked a sufficient focus on terrorism in Pakistan, leaving the U.S open to terrorism from this region. Similarly,  the United States’s credibility in the Middle East has been eroded due to a lack of intervention in two key events. First, during the Iraq War, the US was unable to install a well-functioning central government in Iraq to replace the government that the U.S. military ousted. The lives and resources lost in the Iraq War also made the American public rightfully wary of other foreign intervention in the Middle East. America’s reputation in the Middle East was further damaged during the Syrian Civil War. During the war, President Obama assured that if Syria’s Bashar al-Assad regime used chemical weapons against civilians, it would be crossing a “red line” that would warrant a U.S. invasion. Though al-Assad used chemical weapons, the Obama administration was unwilling to use military intervention in Syria, leading many allies in the Middle East and around the world to question the U.S.’s reliability.

Although Haass may believe the world would be better off with the US reclaiming its unipolarity to preserve a liberal world order, he also thinks it’s unlikely. Realistically, the world order will probably fragment without clear global leadership, leading to an increase in disorder and conflict. Though Haass’s perspective on globalization and America’s declining role on the global stage may be tinged with negativity, the overall message of The World is to stay informed about current events and international affairs. This book is helpful for anyone who has an interest in international relations, political science, or international economies. The World provides a helpful overview of today’s failures and successes and the path it took to get there. This book is also incredibly accessible for someone who is looking for an introduction to international affairs, especially if they do not have extensive knowledge in the field. The writing is well-paced, time-efficient, and easy to follow for beginners and IR savants alike.  

Amber Abdul is a junior at Tufts University studying Political Science and Quantitative Economics. Tara Wirtschoreck is a freshman at Tufts University studying International Relations.

Image: Richard Haas Speaking at Arizona State University (Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia)

This piece is a reproduction from its original issue in Hemispheres vol. 47, no. 1.