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World Order: Reflections on the Character of Nations and the Course of History is Henry Kissinger’s latest book. He dwells on the perception of international peace relations with a critical view on the situation. Summary of the Book In this book, Henry Kissinger begins to analyse the concept of a world order. He looks at the past scenario in global peace relations, and draws on his thoughts for the near future. Dwelling on India, Europe, China and the Middle East, he describes the current scenario and examines how the seemingly dissimilar governments interact with each other. He compares the Westphalian model of sovereign states with equal status within the system that is prominent in Europe to the Islamic system based on a wider idea of an “ummah”, or community. He shows how the very concept of “order” is very different from one model of government to another. He also shows how a model which seems only natural and commonplace to its practitioners may appear alien and even counter-intuitive to others. He writes that this is usually falsely attributed to the cultural differences, debating against the proponents of the “clash of civilizations” theory. A realist through and through, Kissinger writes with clear thoughts in his mind, emphasizing that there can be a world order, just not one that everyone can agree about. About Henry Kissinger Henry Alfred Kissinger is an American political scientist and diplomat. He is a former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State. He has also written A World Restored: Metternich, Castlereagh and the Problems of Peace, American Foreign Policy: Three Essays, Does America Need a Foreign Policy?, and On China and Crisis: The Anatomy of Two Major Foreign Policy Crises. Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973, the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Gerald Ford in 1977 and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service in 2006.