In the aftermath of the Cold War, there was much hype about how the world was entering into period of peace and prosperity. There were endless books about the death of ideology, the withering of the nation-state and, some went so far as to say, the “end of history.”
Among the different theories floating around, one of the most interesting or at least memorable was the one put forth by NY Times columnist, Thomas Friedman in his best-selling book, the Lexus and the Olive Tree. Mr. Friedman noted that no two countries that had a McDonald’s restaurant have ever gone to war against each other.
While it is tempting to believe that there was something in the hamburgers or milkshakes that turned the citizens of the different countries from aggressive war-mongers into peace-loving citizens, I think we need to assume that it is his belief that the management of McDonald’s tend to only establish restaurants in countries that has reached a certain level of economic development and political stability. Further, once a country reaches that level of political stability and economic development it is less likely accept that its leadership undertake violent wars on its neighbors.
Though the McDonald’s theory of peace and hamburgers is memorable, Putin’s decision to sent the tanks across the border to South Ossetia is now the example that proves the rule. Both Moscow and Tbilisi have new Mcdonald’s. (South Ossetia still does not, though Crimea and Riga do.)
