Bigger is not better

What’s interesting about this David Brooks op-ed is that it sums up something that we should have known before going into Iraq — and is part of the argument made by Jonathan Schell in his book The Unconquerable World, which came out shortly after 9/11.

One of the points he makes, referring to the nonviolent revolutions in Eastern Europe, is that the nexus between political and military power is fraying, expecially when large states are forced to confront smaller, committed groups. Schell focused his argument on revolutions and the use of alternatives to violence — rightly, I think, linking that approach to the most successful topplings of despots (as in Eastern Europe).

I think, though, that the use of nontraditional or assymetrical warfare — while not to be condoned — fits within his thesis. The days of the big nation-state riding in and remaking smaller nations in its image are long gone (the history of the second half of the 20th century is all the proof we need).

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Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet