Not sure that my mind counts as reasonable, but I do differ, to some degree, with the following
I think a more accurate assertion would be that nation states' interests in general, and those of the US in particular, are best served by predictability. Stability may well be one category of predictability, but I'm not so sure it is the only one. Some forms of instability are also predictable (like radioactive decay). A quiesant populace may appear to be stable, but that could be quite a distortion, as I think recent events in Egypt have pointed out. One would prefer to know,I think, whether a current level of stability (or instability) is likely to persist, and if so, for how long.
The US political process is predictable but it is rather far from stable, what with the potential turnover of significant portions of the governing elite at all levels every 2-6 years.
One optimizes one's interests by minimizing one's risks. The best way to minimize risk is to have a high level of certainty (that is, predictability) regarding future outcomes and consequences deriving from current actions.
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