formation has been a ponderously conceptualized and updated version of the balance of power doctrines of the 19th Century . . . that Kissinger has studied so intently. . . The paradox is that Kissinger's world, and ours, has been irretrievably revo lutionized at the very moment he sought to stabilize it in the old fashioned terms.
The concept of power that is the basis of Kissinger's balance of power approach to foreign relations is in part obsolete be cause "power . . . has been alchemized into powerlessness. At the same time, an explosive increase in communications tech nology and in economic relations has made the world more inter dependent. Thus the old concepts associated with the term 'bal ance of power' no longer suffice. The very success of Kissinger's policies has made plain that they are based on a flawed founda tion; his world view is anachronistic."
The personality of Kissinger himself is also an important element of any consideration of his perception and execution of foreign policy. He practiced what Mazlish calls "personality as policy," particularly with respect to the shuttle diplomacy he engineered in the Middle East. Personality as policy proved to be effective on the surface, but it also introduced an ele ment of cultishness which does not bode well for the future of American foreign policy, considering that there are few men as personally powerful as Kissinger and therefore the next breed of policy makers may not find as many doors open as wide to them as the charismatic Kissinger did. As one observer noted, "The Kissinger personality has replaced the traditional Uncle Sam figure and literally dwarfs the biggest issues of the day."
The critics are as split on Kissinger's personality as policy approach as they are on his political philosophy itself, some seeing him at the height of his power as "quite possibly . . . the world's indispensable man," while others saw him as "a Dr. Strangelove or a Frank...