Understand that power is diffuse and change is constant: interview with Peter J. Katzenseintand

A preeminent expert on international political economy, Peter Katzenstein offers a nuanced analysis of the current state of world power. Shying away from both misplaced optimism and economic apocalypticism, he argues that the main trend facing the modern, crisis- riddled world is a diffusion of power around the globe and among a range of actors on the international stage. Starting from such an actor-based approach, he argues that many of the woes facing the world today were not caused by concepts like “the market” or “the crisis” but rather by a set of interactions among actors. Indeed he suggests that the current crisis is endogenous to the liberal democratic system and was brought about by policies actively pursued by political and economic elites on both sides of the political spectrum in Europe and the United States. He urges a prudent approach to the complex modern political and economic system, suggesting that those already eulogizing the European project are getting ahead of themselves, as are those overstating the importance of China in shaping geopolitics. He bluntly states that predictions are nearly impossible for economists, political scientists, and politicians and that we should strive for prudent pragmatism rather than grand strategies or economic technocracy. Katzenstein ends the discussion with a call for a system of education that focuses on global history and mutual understanding that would focus on the role of identity—rather than simply security and economic interests— in shaping our social and political behavior.