Statecraft and Stagecraft

When important geopolitical events occur, we tend to see them through the prism of history: pictures from the past shape our understanding of the present. So, after the diplomatic breakthrough between Iran and the U.S. during the U.N. General Assembly in late September — topped off with an unprecedented 15-minute phone call between President Obama and President Hassan Rouhani — it is tempting to ask, Is this 1972 again? Is there a possibility of a dramatic change in relations between the two countries, the kind that took place between the U.S. and China when President Richard Nixon visited Chairman...