"This provocative book takes the form of a dialogue between French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine and international relations expert Dominique Moisi. Vedrine expresses his frank views of the U.S. ""hyperpower,"" France's role in the world, Europe's future, the current structure of the international system, and the role of ethics in international affairs. Probing the historic, diplomatic and cultural issues that unite and divide two historical allies, the book give unique insights into French thinking about the world, and France and America's respective roles in it. ""Like the French satirical television show that twits the United States for being the 'World Company' that invades peoples lives around the globe, the French foreign minister, Hubert Vedrine, expresses frustration, and perhaps a little envy, at America's dominion.... ""Since becoming foreign minister three years ago, Mr. Vedrine, 53, a lawyer and previously the senior foreign policy advisor to Francois Mitterand when he was president, has made a priority of making distinctions between France and the United States. That has left senior American officials muttering more than usual about the French."" --New York Times "

Samuel Huntington's landmark book, The Clash of Civilizations, presented a vision of a world divided by cultural differences, national interests, and political ideologies. In The Geopolitics of Emotion, Dominique Moisi brilliantly demonstrates that the world is nowadays more likely to be shaped by the 'clash of emotions'. Moisi contends that both Europe and the United States are dominated by a fear of the 'other' and by the loss of their national identity and purpose. For Muslims and Arabs, the combination of historical grievances, exclusion from the economic boon of globalization, and civil and religious warfare has created a culture of humiliation that is quickly devolving into a culture of hatred. And as the West and the Muslim world lock horns, Asia, able to concentrate on building a better future, has come to embody 'the culture of hope'. By making clear the driving emotions behind today's headlines, Dominique Moisi offers a better understanding of the world we live in and perhaps a more constructive approach to the conflicts that plague us.