A moving meditation on recent geopolitical crises, viewed through the lens of ancient and modern tragedy“Spare, elegant and poignant... If there is a single contemporary book that should be pressed into the hands of those who decide issues of war and peace, this is it.”—John Gray, New Statesman Some books emerge from a lifetime of hard-won knowledge. Robert D. Kaplan has learned, from a career spent reporting on wars, revolutions, and international politics in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, that the essence of geopolitics is tragedy. In The Tragic Mind, he employs the works of ancient Greek dramatists, Shakespeare, German philosophers, and the modern classics to explore the central subjects of international politics: order, disorder, rebellion, ambition, loyalty to family and state, violence, and the mistakes of power. The great dilemmas of international politics, he argues, are not posed by good versus evil—a clear and easy choice—but by contests of good versus good, where the choices are often searing, incompatible, and fraught with consequences. A deeply learned and deeply felt meditation on the importance of lived experience in conducting international relations, this is a book for everyone who wants a profound understanding of the tragic politics of our time.

lgrsnf/The Tragic Mind - Robert D. Kaplan.pdf

Kaplan, Robert D.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

Brandywine River Museum

Mariners' Museum, The

United States, United States of America

Yale University Press, New Haven, 2023

First Edition, PS, 2023

S.l, 2023

A moving meditation on recent geopolitical crises, viewed through the lens of ancient and modern tragedy
Spare, elegant and poignant. . . . If there is a single contemporary book that should be pressed into the hands of those who decide issues of war and peace, this is it.John Gray, New Statesman
It is tragic that Robert D. Kaplans luminous The Tragic Mind is so urgently needed.George F. Will
Some books emerge from a lifetime of hard-won knowledge. Robert D. Kaplan has learned, from a career spent reporting on wars, revolutions, and international politics in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, that the essence of geopolitics is tragedy. In The Tragic Mind , he employs the works of ancient Greek dramatists, Shakespeare, German philosophers, and the modern classics to explore the central subjects of international order, disorder, rebellion, ambition, loyalty to family and state, violence, and the mistakes of power.
The great dilemmas of international politics, he argues, are not posed by good versus evila clear and easy choicebut by contests of good versus good, where the choices are often searing, incompatible, and fraught with consequences. A deeply learned and deeply felt meditation on the importance of lived experience in conducting international relations, this is a book for everyone who wants a profound understanding of the tragic politics of our time.

A moving meditation on recent geopolitical crises, viewed through the lens of ancient and modern tragedy
"Classical drama provides crucial lessons for policymakers. . . . A road map for effective, well-considered policy."— Kirkus Reviews
Some books emerge from a lifetime of hard-won knowledge. Robert D. Kaplan has learned, from a career spent reporting on wars, revolutions, and international politics in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, that the essence of geopolitics is tragedy. In The Tragic Mind , he employs the works of ancient Greek dramatists, Shakespeare, German philosophers, and the modern classics to explore the central subjects of international politics: order, disorder, rebellion, ambition, loyalty to family and state, violence, and the mistakes of power.
The great dilemmas of international politics, he argues, are not posed by good versus evil—a clear and easy choice—but by contests of good versus good, where the choices are often searing, incompatible, and fraught with consequences. A deeply learned and deeply felt meditation on the importance of lived experience in conducting international relations, this is a book for everyone who wants a profound understanding of the tragic politics of our time.

Some books emerge from a lifetime of hard-won knowledge. Robert D. Kaplan has learned, from a career spent reporting on wars, revolutions, and international politics in Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia, that the essence of geopolitics is tragedy. In The Tragic Mind, he employs the works of ancient Greek dramatists, Shakespeare, German philosophers, and the modern classics to explore the central subjects of international politics: order, disorder, rebellion, ambition, loyalty to family and state, violence, and the mistakes of power. The great dilemmas of international politics, he argues, are not posed by good versus evil{u2014}a clear and easy choice{u2014}but by contests of good versus good, where the choices are often searing, incompatible, and fraught with consequences. A deeply learned and deeply felt meditation on the importance of lived experience in conducting international relations, this is a book for everyone who wants a profound understanding of the tragic politics of our time.-- provided by amazon.com

Cover
Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Preface
Chapter 1: The Battle of Good Against Good
Chapter 2: The Age of Dionysus
Chapter 3: Order: The Ultimate Necessity
Chapter 4: Order and Necessity Must Be Obeyed, Even When They Are Unjust
Chapter 5: Order Creates Perpetual Conflict Between Loyalty to the Family and Loyalty to the State
Chapter 6: The State Becomes the Wellspring of Ambition
Chapter 7: Ambition and the Struggle Against Tyranny and Injustice
Chapter 8: War and Its Horrors
Chapter 9: Because War Is Ever-Present, the Burden of Power Is Overwhelming
Chapter 10: Imperial Wars Are Decided by Fate
Chapter 11: From the Suffering of Heroes Comes the Essence of Tragedy
Chapter 12: The Truth Is Possessed Only by the Old and the Blind
Chapter 13: Because Different Goods Struggle Against Each Other, We Have Consciences
Chapter 14: Time Is Ungrateful
Epilogue
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
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T
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2025-01-02