The Foreign Service Journal, June 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JUNE 2016 101 A Dubious Exceptionalism Why America Misunderstands the World: National Experience and Roots of Misperception Paul R. Pillar, Columbia University Press, 2016, $29.95/hardcover, $28.99/ eBook, 224 pages. Reviewed By Gordon S. Brown This book should be required reading for all presidential candidates. In it, academic and former intelligence offi- cial Paul Pillar explores the numerous reasons why Americans’ perspectives about the world and foreign policy have developed very differently from those of other nations. More importantly, he has then shown how our very American view of the world, and our role in it, has led us to a wide range of analytical and tactical misperceptions about other nations’ motivations and behav- ior—and consequent misperceptions and misguided conventional wisdom about what our own policy responses should be. The list is appallingly broad. To hyper-condense Pillar’s careful analysis, his basic argument is that our continental security; our largely successful eco- nomic and social history; our democratic, optimistic and religious ethos; and our success in the occasional wars that we have fought have com- bined to give Americans a very particu- lar and inaccurate view of the world. We also ignore, he posits, the geo- political insecurity of other nations, their different social and ethnic ten- sions, their histories of conflict and their greater understanding of the necessity for give and take in diplomatic competition. The result has been a very particular American world view: one that is insular, moralistic, righteous and given to seeing international competi- tion as a series of win-lose struggles in which we fight foreign evils. In short, we don’t get it, and don’t understand why our actions sometimes backfire. Many of the points and illustrations made by Pillar will not be unfamiliar to the foreign policy aficionados or wonks likely to read this journal. A seasoned and respected foreign affairs analyst, Pillar has skewered the conventional wisdom on a host of issues where our misperceptions of the threat, the motivations of others or even of our own national interest have led to flawed policies. His own regional experience and frustration show through; there are few Asian examples, for example, but a plethora of critiques about our mis- understandings about Middle Eastern sociopolitical realities and our conse- quent errors. Foreign policy practitioners who have seen their carefully analyzed draft memoranda bled down to a set of over- simplified and “foreigner-free” policy options will surely sympathize with Pillar’s presentation, but find no solace in his conclusion that the analysts are almost invariably ignored anyway when the policy decisions are made. It would be nice to think that, if our presidential candidates actually were to read this book, it could in some way change the attitudes and perceptions about foreign affairs that we have been hearing for the past months. Gordon S. Brown retired in 1996 after a 35- year career in the Foreign Service, during which he specialized in Middle East and economic issues. His last postings were as deputy chief of mission in Tunis, POLAD to CENTCOM during the First Gulf War and ambassador to Mauritania. Since retire- ment, he has turned to writing, mainly 19th-century history, and has published six books. He is a member of the FSJ Editorial Board. Melting Pot of Empires and Cultures: A Unique Guidebook Catholic Kosovo Marilyn Kott, Lulu Press Inc., 2016, $38.49/paperback, $5.99/eBook, 162 pages. Also available at Barnesandno- ble.com , Amazon.com and iTunes. Reviewed By Douglas E. Morris The Balkans is an amazing region that has been almost completely overlooked by tourism. Nowhere is this more evident than in Kosovo, a landlocked nation seemingly trapped in time, surrounded by Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Kosovo’s Ottoman past is well known, but less apparent are the deep BOOKS Pillar has skewered the conventional wisdom on a host of issues where our misperceptions of the threat, the motivations of others or even of our own national interest have led to flawed policies.