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Today is the official launch of The Progressive Realist, a "metablog" of foreign policy commentary from across the left side of the political spectrum, all in the service of exploring what a post-Bush foreign policy should look like. Robert Wright, who is heading up the project, articulated the progressive realist vision back in 2006:
Progressive realism begins with a cardinal doctrine of traditional realism: the purpose of American foreign policy is to serve American interests.But these days serving American interests means abandoning another traditional belief of realists — that so long as foreign governments don’t endanger American interests on the geopolitical chess board, their domestic affairs don’t concern us. In an age when Americans are threatened by overseas bioweapons labs and outbreaks of flu, by Chinese pollution that enters lungs in Oregon, by imploding African states that could turn into terrorist havens, by authoritarian Arab governments that push young men toward radicalism, the classic realist indifference to the interiors of nations is untenable.Although not everyone at the new site necessarily buys into Wright's conception, reading the whole piece is a good idea. Reading the Progressive Realist in the coming months is a good idea, too. I'll be contributing, as will some other TAPPED folks, plus a roster of other interesting writers.
-- Tim Fernholz
