My colleague Tom Kutsch, using the tools of an International Relations maven, reflects on the host of policy options facing Jay Z.

I thought I’d add my own two cents on the Jay-Z vs. The Game fracas in the lens of Marc Lynch who just published what is surely the best blog post to come out on IR theory in sometime.

He ended his post with the following advice to how Jay-Z might deal with the situation:

The Realist advice? His best hope is probably to sit back and let the Game self-destruct, something of which he’s quite capable (he’s already backing away from the hit on Beyonce) — while working behind the scenes to maintain his own alliance structure and to prevent any defections over to the Game’s camp.And it seems that thus far, that’s exactly what he’s doing. We’ll see if that’s a winning strategy…or if he’s just biding his time getting ready for a counter-attack.

All sensible words, but I think Ezra Klein was smart to clarify the debate by suggesting that realism comes in different forms.  As he points out, a Kissingerian realist would no doubt advocate for Jay-Z to involve himself in proxy conflicts against the The Game, subcontracting his strategic aims for a series of tactical and seemingly hands-off engagements.  The problem?  As with American efforts in Southeast Asia and the Middle East in the 20^th century,  “if the battle turns against the proxy, then the benefactor often has to step in directly, but…now faced with an opponent with some battle training and more than a bit of momentum.” 

On the flipside, what about those neoconservatives who might argue for the realist mantle?  They would say there is nothing realistic about Jay-Z outsourcing his strategic concerns to shady allies in the name of stability.  Rather than placating nefarious foes, shouldn’t he, in order to live comfortably in the society of rappers, concern himself with remaking that society in his image?

But recent history has demonstrated the folly of this line of reasoning.  Taking out rogue rappers in a unilateral and ill-prepared manner will do little to burnish Jay-Z’s image or aide the values of creating a better rap environment that a neoconservative approach might ostensibly support. Jay-Z could come out swinging against The Game on the tune of: “I got the Grey Poupon, you been warned/Cause all beef return well done filet mignon.”  But in fact, as George Kennan or Hans Morgenthau might have gently pointed out, all beef does not, in fact, return well done filet mignon.

When Jay-Z opined “Nine to five is how to survive…I ain’t trying to survive/I’m trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot”, he was able to justify his brashness as an up and comer on the scene, challenging the great powers of his own day—and it might have worked in making others take notice.  But because his hegemony has since been established, a false sense of invincibility has the ability to diminish his standing (see here, here, and here for relevant historical parallels).  Kissingerian realism and Neoconservatism are simply ill-equipped in providing Jay-Z the maneuverability that he needs. 

So he is caught in a conundrum:  how, to borrow a phrase from a great IR thinker, can he remain a moral man in an immoral society, without succumbing to a constraining decadence?

In the end, he should remember his own advice, when he was arguably at the soaring heights of his hegemonic power: 

I know what I’m up against
We as rappers must decide what’s most important
And I can’t help the poor if I’m one of them
So I got rich and gave back
To me that’s the win, win

That is Jay-Z as Ethical Realist; he must understand the his environment is not zero-sum, and that he can find a win-win in both keeping his humility and strength of character, and by acting judiciously and enlisting an array of stakeholders in world where mutual benefits are both possible and imperative.  Challenging The Game head on will be enticing, but ultimately unproductive.  It will do little more than undermine the values and positions that he purports to honor and defend. 

Marc Lynch, without saying so, is pointing us to Ethical Realism as the only feasible response for Jay-Z in this difficult time.