Monday, April 13, 2009

Obama’s Foreign Policy: New World Cooperation

Barack Obama is the first American president to boldly venture out of the US in an attempt to assume the role of a global leader. His recent overseas trip gave a glimpse of how he intends to conduct US foreign policy in the future.

Unlike the prior administration’s inept engagement in political dialogue, he clearly understands that the key to building relationships comes through constructing strong coalitions by forging mutual agreements. In order to advance US interests abroad, the president needs buy-in for his agenda. That means being able to persuade not only the leaders of states but their constituencies as well.

This is the reason why Mr. Obama’s use of international town hall meetings is unprecedented. Only John F. Kennedy in his “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech and Ronald Reagan’s speech to Mr. Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall comes close to advancing US foreign policy. The difference is that by using this town hall approach, Mr. Obama was able to engage the people in ways past presidents have never done before. His celebrity status with coverage from real-time news media gave the president the ability to draw the world’s attention by opening a new dialogue with a global audience.

Mr. Obama’s new foreign policy signaled a fundamental shift from that of the Bush administration years. Instead of asserting unilateralism and waving an American big stick, Mr. Obama demonstrated in his first international venture that the US now seeks shared dialogue from its allies to form multilateral policies in support of a reasonable world order. It is essentially what Mr. Obama did in the Strasbourg town hall meeting when he - after being unable to secure additional combat troops for Afghanistan from NATO - proceeded to highlight the threat of Al-Qaeda to Europe. Mr. Obama’s message to the people of France was that America couldn’t win the war against Al-Qaeda alone and that it needed France’s help.

Another interesting dynamic to this new foreign policy approach is the president’s potential ability to deal with rogue nations. His innate gift to strike accord with the people could potentially open dialogue with countries that the US has had minimal success in the past. Iran serves as a good example. Scholars who understand Iran know that the Iranian people are far more moderate than the hard-line Khomeini/Ahemedinejad government. If Mr. Obama is able to articulate persuasively to the Iranian people the dangers of nuclear proliferation and the incentives of a nuclear-free Iran, perhaps diplomatic ties with Tehran could potentially thaw and face-to-face talks could be reopened.

Mr. Obama’s goals are to find mutual agreement and build consensus among nations. As such, a foreign policy that attempts to do this can serve as the staging point to exert international pressure on rogue nations. This was illustrated when North Korea recently test launched an ICBM missile in the Pacific. While in Prague, Mr. Obama was swift to condemn the act. The president assumed the world-stage to not only speak on behalf of the US but to also speak on behalf of a unified international community that demands North Korea’s disarmament.

President Obama’s foreign policy of new world cooperation can be exemplified in the Istanbul, Turkey town hall meeting. Mr. Obama needed to win over the people of Turkey in order to build future relationships that would have far reaching implications in the region. On one level, Mr. Obama had to convince the people of Turkey - which are predominantly Muslim albeit secular - that “America was never at war with Islam.” By building on this theme of trust, the administration hopes, on a governmental level, to forge strong ties with Turkey to further advance US interests in the region. In fact, Mr. Obama was successful in negotiating an agreement with the Turkish government to use the country as an exit point for US troops in Iraq. A good rapport with Turkey could potentially strengthen relationships with countries in the Middle East, including Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, and pave a way for negotiations towards Middle East peace.

Strategically, Mr. Obama is essentially laying the foundation on which he believes the future will reap not only multiple successful objectives in US favor but to also implement policies with other countries to benefit the region. The innovative difference in Mr. Obama’s approach is to directly engage the people in the political process. Like James Madison, Mr. Obama - an astute student of history himself - understands that a well-informed citizenry is essential to push through well-intentioned policies. Mr. Obama’s new approach seeks to advance a culture of shared authority based on shared dialogue and enlightened mutual respect – something US foreign policy lacked for eight years. Mr. Obama’s fresh approach towards diplomacy may magnify US presidential power in an unprecedented ways; however, at this stage, it is too early to determine how much clout the president likely managed to sow during his recent visit to Europe.

As the reality of this recent trip illustrated, Mr. Obama did not get everything he wanted. When he arrived in London for the G20 Summit in the beginning stages of the trip, Mr. Obama set forth a plan that requested a commitment from other member nations to infuse more economic stimulus and to construct a uniform policy that would regulate the international banking system to address the economic crisis. While America sought enhanced economic stimulus spending, Mr. Obama embraced European concerns in support of regulated capitalism to facilitate recovery of a shared global market system. Albeit Mr. Obama failed to get the fiscal stimulus, he found the middle ground and received a $1 trillion infusion from the IMF to stabilize the economic crisis and help poorer countries. Mr. Obama also received partially what he wanted in Afghanistan. Seeking for more combat troops, NATO only promised to send an additional five-thousand troops for training purposes. Diplomacy as well as politics, is the art of compromise and is not a zero-sum game. Political scientists and perhaps Mr. Obama himself grasps that the process itself is incremental. Here, Mr. Obama may have not received everything he wanted but was able to get some of the provisions he asked for. That is a good start, although some media pundits might disagree.

This is only the beginning for the administration as it attempts to lay the foundation of international consensus and coalition. If it does so successfully, the US will be able to find renewed strength, respect, and leadership in the eyes of world as it seeks to address the great global challenges of the future including the War on Terror and global climate change. Mr. Obama’s first overseas venture, with its positive and negative outcomes, may prove to have laid the groundwork for a new world order of cooperation. Only time will tell if Europe yields and provides additional troops to Afghanistan. Only time will tell if the global economic crisis subsides and improves. Only time will tell if Mr. Obama’s popularity remains high with the world. If so, we may be looking at our first international global leader.