Kissinger’s ‘World Order’ in Persian

A 2014 book ‘World Order’ by German-American diplomat and political scientist Henry Kissinger, is now available in Persian.

Translator Mohammad Taqi Hosseini, 53, has rendered the book, described as ‘the summation of Kissinger’s thinking’ in Persian. The Persian edition in 457 pages has been brought out by the Tehran-based Elmi-Farhangi publishing company, IBNA reported.

In his latest work, the 56th US Secretary of State (from 1973-77) Henry Alfred Kisssinger, 94, circles much of the globe, covering India, Europe, China and the Middle East, according to a review by The Guardian.

The book draws on a wide range of historical examples to make points about present-day issues. It enables the reader to assess Kissinger’s own era in government in historical perspective.

Four specific conceptions of ‘order’ attract most of his attention: the European system, specifically its Westphalian model of sovereign states with equal status within the system; an Islamic system based on a wider idea of an ‘ummah’ or community; a Chinese system based on traditional ideas of the Middle Kingdom as a great regional power; and the American order, finding a new purpose a century ago under the 28th US president Woodrow Wilson, eventually dominant across the globe, and now under unprecedented pressure.

Kissinger strides briskly from century to century, continent to continent, examining the alliances and divisions that have defined Europe over the centuries, the fallout from the disintegration of nation-states like Syria and Iraq, and China’s developing relationship with the rest of Asia and the West, the review said.

His writing functions like a zoom lens, opening out to give a panoramic appreciation of larger historical trends and patterns, then zeroing in on small details and anecdotes that vividly illustrate his theories.

However, the New York Times points out “troubling” passages in the book: “The handful of pages dealing with Vietnam, for instance, will remind many readers of Kissinger’s disingenuousness on that subject. Once again, he sidesteps questions about decisions that he and (former president) Richard Nixon made that prolonged and expanded the war, as well as their devastating consequences.”