Can Intervention Work?

By: Rory Stewart, Gerald Knaus

Narrated by: James Langton

Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus distill their remarkable firsthand experiences of political and military interventions into a potent examination of what we can and cannot achieve in a new era of "nation building". As they delve into the massive, military-driven efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans, the expansion of the EU, and the bloodless "color" revolutions in the former Soviet states, they reveal each effort's consequences for international relations, human rights, and our understanding of state building.

Stewart and Knaus parse carefully the philosophies that have informed interventionism and draw on their experiences in the military, nongovernmental organizations, and the Iraqi provincial government to reveal what we can ultimately expect from large-scale interventions, and how they might best realize positive change in the world.

©2011 Rory Stewart and Gerald Knaus (P)2011 Dreamscape Media

Great Discussion, Prerequisites Required

These were both excellent discussions of the challenges facing any organization pursuing nationbuilding.

Although I was familiar with the background in Afghanistan, I did not have a strong background in the Balkan conflicts.

I would advise before jumping into this book to do some background reading on both the Afghan conflict in the '00s and the Balkans in the '90s.

Good but specialized

Very well informed arguments about the challenges of intervention, but probably appeals only to those with a specialist's interest in the topic.

WHAT BOOTS ON THE GROUND SAY TO EACH OTHER

Intervention (think "nation building") rarely works. Democracy can't be applied like a postage stamp. It takes time, negotiation, empathy, a promise of justice..... and a lot of money. We should be prepared for all of this before we intervene in other countries or we should refrain from intervention.