Shared Values, Interests of US and Allies

There is an old argument between the so-called "realistic" school of foreign affairs and the "idealistic" school. To oversimplify, realists downplay the importance of values while emphasizing the balance of power as the key to stability and peace. Idealists emphasize the primacy of values and the character of societies as crucial to states' behavior toward other nations. While this may make for interesting academic debate, in real life, power and values are inextricably linked. Great powers can influence millions of lives and change history. And the values of great powers matter. If the Soviet Union had won the Cold War, the world would be a very different place today. Read on. (Washington File, 15 october 2002)