this is a very well-written history of the neo conservative movement by one of its proponents - or as fukuyama might consider it - early proponents. fukuyama traces the evolution of neoconservative thought from the halls of CCNY through to reagan and eventually to william kristol and robert kagan from which it seems fukuyama wishes to distinguish himself.
the book clearly articulates the fundamental principles of the neoconservatism that fukuyama sees: its belief in the USA as a moral force with a unique destiny, eschewing international institutions for the preservation of security and justice, a dislike of social engineering projects, and the concept of the "regime" - the manifestation of a state's populace in its character and foreign policy.
fukuyama goes on to cite concerns with the bush's concept of neoconservatism as expressed in iraq, and does an excellent job of raising interesting points that makes the reader aware of the intricacies of the theory.
i took it that it was up to the reader to challenge the principles if one did not agree with them and here goes.
(1) the "unique impulse" of the usa puts it into situations where it ends up being a moral arbiter to some of the world's grey areas. the realists stay clear of these. often times it is clear that the usa is not blessed with the wisdom of solomon and i feel the neocons get out of a cost/benefit analysis of a situation with an overriding principle such as this.
(2) i completely disagree with the concept of "regime" as it is articulated - the internal and external workings of a state are under different institutional pressures (internally democratic, externally (more or less) unaccountable) and realists would argue that these institutions are a better predictor of actual behaviour. there is ample evidence of the schizophrenic nature of the usa along with other "democratic" nations in the world which refutes the principle. again, accepting this principle results in "less work" in explaining the actions but opens one to real moral hazards.
fukuyama spends a fair amount of time examining problems in international development (he divides these into economic and political along the lines of huntington) and laying out the case for "multi-multilateralism" (another term for "coalitions of the willing") as a means by which to salvage the current path along which the usa finds themselves. in doing so, it seems fukuyama is willing to weaken the neoconservatism principle eschewing international institutions by using these coalitions (institution-lite) through which the usa can start to wield their significant soft power. what seems more likely than not is that the future of the neoconservative movement will draw more heavily from liberal principles than the strains of realism. 

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