Robert Kaplan was reportedly profoundly distressed when the Clinton administration took his analysis of the conflicts in Yugoslavia – a conflict fueled by “ancient hatreds” – as an excuse for inaction. If the hate is intractable, Clinton reasoned, then what good can we possibly do?

Just so no one makes that mistake again, Kaplan here fleshes out his usual analysis – in countries where politics has collapsed, all that’s left is culture – with a policy prescription. Specifically, he favors aggressive overseas intervention. The only way to create order in places that have none, he says, is to impose it. That sounds like US policy since September 11th, but Kaplan has a more subtle approach in mind: avoid upsetting local sensibilities and over-taxing US resources by working behind the scenes. In other words he’s more in favor of Afghanistan (US special forces on horseback calling in airstrikes for our allies) than Iraq (the Marines blasting their way to Baghdad). Not as good as his earlier books.