Thomas P.M. Barnett :: Weblog

Dateline: above the garage in Portsmouth RI, 22 June 2004

The following is a short profile published on page 56 of the Summer 2004 issue of On Wisconsin! (magazine for University of Wisconsin alumni). To see the actual section of the issue on-line (PDF file), go to http://www.uwalumni.com/onwisconsin/2004_summer/pdf/ALUMNINEWS.pdf.

War Philosopher

When Thomas Barnett '84 advocates "shrinking the gap," he's not referring to cutting a chain store's inventory—he's talking about narrowing the divide between globalized nations and those least connected to globalization.

In his book, The Pentagon's New Map: War and Peace in the Twenty-First Century (G.P. Putnam's Sons), the Naval War College senior strategic researcher and Pentagon adviser emphasizes, "States least connected to globalization overwhelming account for where we've gone with military forces since the end of the Cold War." To reduce the frequency of these interventions, he says, we need to move from a containment strategy to extending globalization, thus shrinking the gap between rich and poor countries.

"Extend globalization; invite everybody to the party; and when everybody's in, terrorists won't hold the same sway," he says. "The would-be suicide bomber will have other options; his life won't be as pointless."

Barnett, an award-winning instructor who was named one of Esquire magazine's "best and brightest" in 2002 and christened a "philosopher of modern war," collaborated with the broker-dealer firm of Cantor Fitzgerald in a pioneering study about globalization's impact on national security. It examined—among many scenarios—possible terrorist attacks on Wall Street. Ironically, several workshops that were part of the study were held atop the World Trade Center, which would be the main 9/11 attack target and would result in the death of many of the company's employees.

In Barnett's view, the attacks reflected the "ultimate rise of the lesser-includeds," or non-state actors striking out against globalization's main symbols of power. Theory had become reality.

As the assistant for strategic futures, working in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Barnett advised senior leaders on "transforming" the Pentagon's long-range war planning from fighting "near-peer" armies to contending with the new type of threat. "I'm the most optimistic of all DOD [Department of Defense] strategists," he says. "We're on the verge of making war as we know it obsolete."

At UW-Madison, Barnett majored in international relations and Russian literature, studying the language with legendary instructor Lydia Kalaida, and singing bass in her Slavic choir. His junior-year selection to Phi Beta Kappa was a "life-changing event." At Harvard, he earned a master's degree in Soviet studies and a doctorate in political science.

Barnett's parents, John Barnett LLB'49 and Colleen Clifford Barnett '46, MA'55, JD'90, met at students at UW-Madison; all six of his siblings attended the university; and he met his future spouse, Vonne Meussling Barnett '82, MS'85, when they worked together at Paisan's, the University Square restaurant. The couple lives in Portsmouth, Rhode Island; has three children; and is in the process of adopting a baby girl from China—thus "shrinking the gap, one person at a time."

--Joel H. Cohen

COMMENTARY: Cohen was a very easy person to interact with, and he let me edit his piece for clarity, which involved only tweaking a couple of words here and there (like getting the degree years right for various family members). I get a little tired of the "war philosopher" moniker, but I understand why they use it ("peace philosopher" just won't do at "war college"). By and large, I think he did a very nice job using only 450 words: he got the essence of the book, did a quick career bio, ran through my UW time, and then referenced my family's ties there. Plus he got several quotes in from me and mentioned the book right on top. We tried to schedule for a new photo of me but couldn't get it done, so they used one the Naval War College's Public Affairs Office generated back in 2002. It's a shot of me leaning against my PC desk at my office (always gotta get that map behind me!).