Well, I think the United States first of all has to recognize the world for what it is.

The argument now that the spread of pop culture and consumer goods around the world represents the triumph of Western civilization trivializes Western culture. The essence of Western civilization is the Magna Carta, not the Magna Mac. The fact that non-Westerners may bite into the latter has no implications for their accepting the former.

Nationalism is a central ideology for people who are trying to establish their own states in which they can play a dominant role.

Many of the most difficult questions concerning the role of ethnic minorities centers on language.

I think we've seen at least the beginnings of rather significant social and economic change in the Muslim world, which I think will in due course lead to more political change.

The U.S. has and still is cooperating with various military dictatorships around the world. Obviously we would prefer to see them democratized, but we are doing it because we have national interests, whether it's working with Pakistan on Afghanistan or whatever.

In the coming decades, questions of identity, meaning cultural heritage, language, and religion will play a central role in politics.