More on the book on RSC Theory I discussed here a bit as my New Years' Day entry. [By way of review, RSC Theory means a theory of international relations that looks at the globe from the bottom up -- from the circumstance of particular regions regarded as each a "security complex" in its own right, to their relationship with each other and so to the Big Global Picture. This, as expounded in the 2003 book REGIONS AND POWERS, is in accord with the old Machiavellian realist approach to the subject and averse to top-down views such as the "end of history" or "clash of civilizations" theorists.] I'd like to quote a striking passage about matters of cause and effect in this book. "For much of history, only one scenario appears as relevant ... because development has turned onto one of the tracks that becomes self-reinforcing. At crucial moments of historical change, the situation is open and several scenarios become possible, though, as we have see...