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Statecraft: Strategies for a Changing World | 
 enlarge | Author: Margaret Thatcher
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 785382
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 486
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.4 x 1.7
ISBN: 0060199733
Dewey Decimal Number: 327.1
EAN: 9780060199739
ASIN: 0060199733
Publication Date: April 1, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
In Statecraft, Margaret Thatcher, a unique world figure, discusses global military, political, and economic challenges of the twenty0first century. The former British Prime Minister brings her unrivaled political experience to comment on the threats that democracy faces at the dawn of the new millennium and the role Western powers should play in the world's hotspots, especially in the aftermath of September 11, 2001.Reflecting on the lessons of the Cold War, she outlines the foundation of U.S. dominance and its mission as the only global superpower. Thatcher offers wise observations about the dangers posed by Balkan instability, rogue states, Islamic extremism, and international terrorism -- and suggests strategies to counter them. She also examines current trends in Russia, China, India, the Far East, Europe and Great Britain, and offers guidance for the future. Noting how every contemporary problem evokes demands for a global solution, Thatcher also warns of over-reliance on international institutions at the expense of nation states.Statecraft is an incisive treatise on power in the age of globalism, written by a legendary world statesperson with a matchless combination of principles, experience and shrewdness.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Mother Maggie Explains It All for You May 19, 2008
Having read Thatcher's The Path to Power, about her life before becoming Britain's Prime Minister, I found myself admiring her style and mostly agreeing with her politics. She is, of course, an unapologetic conservative, and whether you like her books will depend on your politics. If you're somewhere in the middle, you can learn a few things, and no doubt admire her breadth of knowledge. In Statecraft she essentially sizes up world politics and, backing up her positions with tons of data, makes a strong case for capitalism and democracy--taking some obvious slaps at socialism and liberalism in general, the European Union in particular. In the later chapters where she deals with Britain's relations with the EU, the detail can get a little tiresome, but for the most part the book is highly readable. My one complaint is that Thatcher's prose lacks the zing, the poetry, the rhetorical quality of her great predecessor, Winston Churchill. Thatcher is always more prosy, more earthbound--but, as she points out, she carries on the English tradition of high-flown (and empty) rhetoric, the kind of empty rhetoric she finds in the pronouncements of the EU and the UN. Though her writing isn't highly quotable, it is always clear, and occasionally she manages some cleverness in wording, as at the book's end, when she praises rugged individualists (of which Britain has had plenty) and observes that society needs them the way an oyster needs the irritation of grit to create a pearl: 'No grit, no pearl,' as she puts it. This book is a pearl, indeed, worthy of its very admirable (and so often misconstrued) author, one of the great women of our lifetimes.
Worth noting: every conservative book gets called 'hate-filled' by some liberal reviewer. Well, trust me, Lady Thatcher is not much of a hater, and she doesn't demonize her opponents. In fact, she is one of the most even-handed writers I've ever read. For her, politics is not angels versus demons, but flawed people of every party and persuasion, with good and bad in each. She aims her ire at ideas and practices, not individuals. If Maggie is a hate-filled conservative, she is certainly keeping her hate under wraps.
 Unoriginal and dogmatic. October 5, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Margaret Thatcher is not breaking any new grounds in this book. This was the biggest disappointment. Her analysis was not honed to perfection. Unfortunately, there was nothing else to distinguish it from any other book filled with political blubber.
I did not expect her to boast about "American Achievement". It is as if she turned into Tony Blair. I was hoping for some independent thinking from an eminent personality. Instead, the book is filled with "America - good, the rest of the World - revere America" kind of deal. Her one-sided, and not necessarily irrefutable, opinion screams from every page.
She is not the first person to anatomize the statecraft and this work is not exuding anything convincing.
The dullness of the text also stands out. It lacks in character and style. It reads very much as a textbook.
I would not call it a waste of time, but it is close to it.
Great insight into the EU from one of Europe's great leaders August 22, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is the negative comments on The EU especially why it is not very democratic for Europeans - anyone looking to forecast the future of the EU will find this section very interesting.
Thought-provoking July 23, 2007
In this brilliant book, Thatcher discusses the state of the world at the start of the 21st century and the way forward, drawing on her considerable experience and keen insights. Chapter One: cold war reflections, touches on many subjects from the information revolution to the victory of the West in the cold war. Chapter Two looks at the American achievement including the concept of a unipolar world, military preparedness, defence technologies and missile defence.
Chapter Three deals with Russia, the legacy of communism, the role of the IMF, the failed economic reforms, the country's relations with its former Soviet colonies and what remains of its military power. Part One of Chapter Four explains why Asia, with half of the world's population and a third of all dry land, matters so much. Part Two deals with the Tigers: Singapore, South Korea and Indonesia, whilst Part Three is devoted to Japan. The next chapter, Asian Giants, deals with China (including Taiwan and Hong Kong) and India.
In Chapter Six, rogue states, religion and terrorism are discussed, with particular reference to North Korea, Islam, Iraq, Syria, Lybia and Iran. In Chapter Seven, Thatcher discusses human rights, genocide, the Yugoslavia and Rwanda criminal tribunals, the international criminal court and European court of human rights.
Chapter Eight investigates the Balkan wars whilst Chapter Nine is devoted to the European Union. Thatcher investigates the roots of the European idea, the European economic and social model, the pensions crisis, the common agricultural policy, the Euro currency as a means towards a superstate and the bureaucratic, anti-democratic nature of the EU.
Thatcher warns against the creeping loss of sovereignty to unaccountable EU bureaucrats who have only contempt for democracy. The next chapter looks at the current situation of the UK by investigating all the options of how her country might extricate itself from this mess. She advises Britain to stick to the Pound and to renegotiate the structure of the EU.
The last chapter strikes a devastating blow to the critics of capitalism by illustrating how well the free economies have been performing as opposed to the shackled economies of the remaining authoritarian regimes. She also dissects the absurdities of the global warming scare and discusses globalism and its enemies.
The postscript deals with accountability and the Magna Carta in a delightful description of Thatcher and her husband's visit to the memorial at Runnymede. She concludes the book with the observation that the political culture of the English-speaking peoples has given the world the ideas that power should be limited, force should not overrule justice plus the conviction that individuals have an absolute moral worth.
There are 20 full color photographs, 13 maps and 8 tables that enhance this highly readable and illuminating text. Bibliographic references are scattered throughout and the book concludes with a thorough index.
Margaret Thatcher : Volume One : The Grocer's Daughter
Margaret Thatcher, Volume II : The Iron Lady
A must in the library of ANYONE interested in international affairs March 25, 2006
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
What can I say? Lady Margaret Thatcher has written a brillient summary of the world's problems as well as its opportunities. She combines a knowledge of the world problems matched by few along with her experience of having met many of the particulars and visited many of the countries of which she writes. She interweaves stories of her encounters with world leaders and other important figures to add an element of personal flair to the work.
Lady Thatcher begins with a discussion of the American achievement of leading a coalition to defeat the Soviets and their aspirations to global domination. She then goes through region by region, analyzing pertinent facts and discussing both problems and opportunities. Following many sections, Lady Thatcher specifically itentifies recommended policy prescriptions that are sensical and easy to understand. She talks about Russia, the dynamic economies of Asia, including both Japan and their perculiar place vis a vis many other Asian countries as well as the troublesome Chinese regime and their continued threats towards Taiwan. Sino-philes won't be happy at what she says about China in many areas, especially vis a vis Taiwan.
She also discusses many areas where the West has failed or at least been misguided. Human Rights and the failure in the Balkans are among them. She spends two chapters talking about Europe and Britain's relations with it. She details Britains contributions to the EU, the EU's inconsistency with liberty and democracy and how Britain must use their bargaining strength to negotiate a fairer deal for Britain within the Union. She then talks about capitalism and discusses how many people simply do not understand capitalism and how it is supposed to work.
The postscript brings us back to the beginnings of personal liberty. Runnymede in 1215, the site of the signing of the Magna Carta. From these humble beginnings, the Anglo tradition of the liberty that rightfully belongs to freemen was established. It then bore fruit later in Britain as more and more people came under the category of freemen before Britain spread this concept of liberty around the world. This is the unique and invaluable gift to the world of Britain and the other English-speaking peoples - peoples who have the unparalled ability to make human liberty work and this be a beacon and a light to the rest of the world. In many senses, this is what the entire work is about.
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