In a speech last night, Philip Zelikow, associate professor of public policy at Harvard University, set out to explain the current situation in Germany and offer predictions of the future through an analysis of the past.
He delivered a speech titled "Germany Unified and Europe Transformed: Looking Back and Looking Forward" to an overflowing audience in the Hinman Forum.
Zelikow said he firmly believes public affairs are dominated and determined by history. He stressed the importance of "viewing current affairs through the lens of history," but cautioned against becoming a "prisoner to history."
Zelikow began with a description of "The Berlin Express," a movie produced in 1949, and demonstrated the differences that would be present in a 1989 rewrite.
In the original, a professor, whose infinite value is determined by the fact that he possesses the secret to the successful reunification of Germany, is kidnapped.
Provoking laughter from his audience, Zelikow explained that in a newer version, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher would be thrilled that the professor was out of the way.
Zelikow's speech included many such examples and antidotes to illustrate the incredible changes that have occurred since the end of World War II and the post Cold War era.
His speech, whose title is identical to a book he co-authored with Stanford University Professor Condoleezza Rice, intended to present an international perspective.
Zelikow discussed four key points relevant to understanding the past and the future.
The first is that politicians must consider what they want. He demonstrated several examples in which politicians worked to achieve their primary goals.
The second is that one must pay special attention to details. He encouraged students "not to get caught up in abstraction but to always understand the concrete details."
The third is the "Whig interpretation of history," a term for revisionist history that portrays every step a country takes as an unfolding of progressive principles.
Last was his view that an understanding of "heads, hearts and history" is essential. Without an understanding of these factors, one cannot accurately analyze policy.
This speech was the Sixth Annual Picard Lecture, part of a program intended to bring German professors to Dartmouth.
