Dr. Barnett's explicitly trying to create the groundwork for the next era of bipartisan foreign policy. Containment, for good or for ill, was something that had enough 'give' in it that it could be pursued by both liberals and conservatives. You can be a passionate progressive and sign on to Dr. Barnett's framework or a rock ribbed conservative or live somewhere in between.

One major benefit to this is that it makes US foreign policy predictable, coherent, and much more effective than if every party change in control of the White House leads to a major shift in foreign policy outlook. If we're going to survive the curve balls that the world will throw at us, a common framework is very important.

Dr. Barnett, with whom I have corresponded, has made it perfectly clear that he is much more interested in laying out the foundations that will underly both parties foreign policy than in carrying the flag for his preferred political party, which happens to be the Democrat party. He's remarkably tolerant of people on both left and right that take his work and extend it. He, quite frankly, encourages it.

So if you think there's some sort of detail or twist that is left blank, think of it as an invitation to fill it in, not as some sort of weakness in the structure. He does answer correspondence.