Great Books

There are a couple of books that I have read recently that have really clarified my view of the world. The first is The Pentagon's New Map by Thomas P. M. Barnett. He is a long time security policy wonk who has developed a view of international security concerns that makes sense to me. He states that the world has divided itself into an "Integrated Core" and the "Gap." The intigrated core are those parts of the world that have joined the global economy and have become in effect a part of a larger economic system that requires peace and the rule of law to function. The gap is what's left and has been largely left out of the process and is the source most international security concerns. Today the main visible arena for this is the middle-east but it could be any where in the gap. The only way to solve these problems are in the end to integrate these areas into the Core.

Barnett's book really made sense to me in regard to international relations and security. I am just finishing Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. This book dovetails almost perfectly with Barnett's, though I am not sure that either of them would think so. What Friedman does is explain how the core integrates and how it works on a micro as well as a macro level. As I read the book I kept saying (to myself to avoid being considered a nutcase by my fellow Delta passengers) "So this is how the core works!"

You should all read both books right now. If you think I'm nuts say so and we can discuss it.