When the neoconservative’s neocon Francis Fukuyama went to
Europe in 2002 to promote his book Our Posthuman Future,
he had a realization that shocked his conservative peers. Deeply
surprised by Europeans’ perception of the United States, he was
driven to re-evaluate his stance on the Bush administration’s
foreign policy, oppose the war in Iraq, and vote for John Kerry.
While many fellow neocons feel betrayed by Fukuyama’s critique of
Bush and today’s neoconservatism, Fukuyama did not jump ship on its
theories altogether,
American Prospect Online reports. Rather, he is trying
to revitalize its core principles.
Central to Fukuyama’s critique of the current administration’s
foreign policy is the war in Iraq, which he sees as overestimating
‘US power and our ability to control events around the world.’ The
waves his criticisms are making in conservative circles are opening
internal debates into increasingly public discussions about the
course of US foreign policy. Last year, Fukuyama delivered a series
of lectures at Yale on the topic that became the basis for his
forthcoming book After Neoconservatism. After his public
split with the National Interest, he launched the journal
The American Interest in September as a part of his
efforts to further discussions about ‘international institutions,
state building, economic development and US-European relations.’ He
says he hopes the magazine will serve as ‘a two-way mirror between
America and the world.’
— Rose Miller
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