Re-heating American pie
Well, that didn't happen. Washington is a slippery place, more so than even Delhi. So he did the next best thing. He became editor of the vastly influential Newsweek International, and continued to write and speak on international affairs. His book, The Future of Freedom, was a widely acclaimed best-seller in 2003.
He has done it again. He has written yet another engrossing, courageous and timely book, with the heart-stopping title of The Post-American World "" timely because, unsettled by crises at home and abroad, and fearful that the American dream is going down the tube, Americans today are looking for explanations and solutions that work. Zakaria's book gives them both. It tells them where America has gone wrong, reassuring them at the same time that things are not so bad "" not yet "" and goes on to list the steps that America needs to take to stay number one in a fast-changing world. Zakaria's words are gentle; he has also pulled many punches, and his love for his adopted land is unquestionable. But a lot of what he has to say must make Americans squirm, unaccustomed as they are to looking squarely in the mirror, and considering paths that go against the grain. As Zakaria says, quoting Mark Twain, "To a man with the hammer, all problems look like nails."
Of course futurology is a tricky business, perhaps more so than ever before. There are just far too many imponderables. America may reinvent itself, and thereby succeed in staying miles ahead of China, India and the rest of the pack; or China may shoot itself in the foot, followed by India and the rest; or, what is more likely, India may get the honour of shooting itself in the foot first, followed (hopefully) by China and the rest. Or the whole world may go down the tube . . .
But Zakaria's researches seem thorough, his alarm bells ring true and his projections look plausible. And America today (to quote Zakaria) 'has developed a highly dysfunctional politics . . . , captured by money, special interests, . . . and ideological attack groups. The result is ceaseless, virulent debate about trivia "" politics as theatre, and very little substance . . . The political process has become . . . ineffective.' (If, dear reader, while reading the above words, you wonder for a moment whether Zakaria is not writing about India, don't blame yourself. It is a natural mistake to make. There is more in common between the two great democracies than meets the eye.)
Not surprisingly, much of what the book has to say about the world today, and about India itself, will be music to Indian readers, not because it still pleases us to see America squirm, but because the book gives India high marks, and rare, chest-swelling coverage. A whole chapter of the book, called "" this will delight the CPM "" 'The Ally', is devoted to India. The author has even quoted, approvingly, Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, and, hold your breath, the Rig Veda itself (to explain to Americans what Hinduism is all about).
So let us also hope that when the dust settles in America this November and the new President's talent scouts go a-hunting, they will start with the offices of Newsweek International. It would be a pity if Zakaria were to have the leisure and material to write his next timely and heart-stopping best-seller "" 'Mandarin without tears.'
The author is a retired IFS officer, and author of two books, both works of fiction set in the world of diplomacy
THE POST-AMERICAN WORLD
Fareed Zakaria
Penguin/Viking
Price: Rs 499 ; Pages: 304