Obama’s first days inspire great hope of social and economic renewal but can America afford the promise he embodies? Living as I do in an extended Rooseveltian-Democrat family, in the heavily Democratic state of Connecticut, in the overwhelmingly Democratic city of New Haven, and teaching at undoubtedly liberal Yale University, I had no surprise in witnessing the steadily expanding family excitement as the Obama campaign unfolded. There were also no surprises when, in our local soup kitchen the day after the election, the predominantly African-American clientele was exhilarated, walking around the room and slapping each other’s fists. “You know, prof,” one of them told me, “I made my three young sons watch television all evening long. It was history. I wanted them to talk about this night in 2050.” So they will.
But I was surprised when I sensed that this excitement had filtered across the aisles to my Republican friends. This was partly relief at seeing George Bush and Dick Cheney go and embarrassment at their policies, but it was clearly more than that. One friend, a lifelong Republican with two sons serving in the military, told me he had never been so excited in his life as he was at Obama entering the White House. There is a massive manifestation of human hope that one man can somehow pull this country, and the world outside, out of our present, frightened, battered state. The hope is so manifest because the anxiety is so profound. I have not seen such febrile excitement, whether among my Yale undergraduates or the denizens of the soup kitchen, since I arrived here from Britain 25 years ago (By Paul Kennedy, The Times, January 25, 2009).
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Until Bush, the U.S. always knew military force alone wasn’t enough, even for a superpower. As it rediscovers this truth under Obama, some see an opportunty for a grand unified theory in foreign policy: “The rest of the world knows that the U.S. is the big kid on the block, and that this will likely remain the case for years to come. But our staying power has a great deal to do with whether we are perceived as a bully or a friend. Humility increases America’s greatness, it does not weaken it.” – U.S. vice-president Joe Biden, 2008
Barack Obama’s administration will be taking a “smart-power” approach to foreign policy. Just the phrase is comforting to a world fed up with recent U.S. “hard power” military strategy, where all relationships were subsumed into a with-us-or-against-us mindset. But what exactly is it? Smart power is the integration of hard and soft power, maintaining military strength while using persuasion and example to seed democracy, human rights and other Western ideas throughout the world. Diplomacy will again be the focus, Hillary Clinton said at her secretary of state confirmation hearings, but she’ll use “the full range of tools at our disposal – diplomatic, economic, military, political, legal, and cultural – picking the right tool, or combination of tools, for each situation.” (The Star.com, January 24, 2009).
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The United States is embracing social networks and other Web 2.0 tools to win the “war of ideas” with Islamic militants and other extremist groups, a top US policy-maker said Monday…”The best way to achieve our goals in public diplomacy is through a new approach to communicating, an approach that is made far easier because of the emergence of Web 2.0 or social networking technologies…We call our new approach Public Diplomacy 2.0…” (Agence France Press, December 1, 2008)
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At the end of Bill Clinton’s presidency in January 2001, the Web site The Onion declared: “Our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is over.” That was supposed to be satire, but in retrospect it proved a shrewd analysis. One measure of the bleak trajectory of the last eight years is that today The Onion looks equally astute when it says of the latest transition: “Black man given nation’s worst job.”
That man is making an excellent start, and news Web sites all over the world capture the globe’s eagerness — even desperation — for American leadership. “Let the remaking of America begin today,” declared The Guardian, in Britain. The Independent called Inauguration Day “a day for hope.” In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke of “a truly great hour for America” that offered “a multitude of opportunities.” The Times of India welcomed “a new beginning.” In Northern Ireland, The Belfast Telegraph asked: “Can Obama save us all?”
A BBC poll in 17 nations found that on average 67 percent believed that President Obama would improve America’s relations with the rest of the world; just 5 percent thought the opposite (or maybe feared that if they seemed critical of George W. Bush, they would be waterboarded). (The New York Times, Junuary 21, 2009)
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There is worldwide optimism that Barack Obama’s presidency will improve US relations with the rest of the world, a BBC World Service poll suggests.
In a poll of more than 17,000 people in 17 countries, about 67% said Mr Obama would strengthen US relations abroad. The poll also indicates that people expect Mr Obama to make the global economic crisis his top priority. This was followed by pulling US troops out of Iraq, tackling climate change and brokering Middle East peace.
A similar BBC-commissioned poll held six months ago – before Mr Obama was elected – indicated that just 47% of respondents thought he would improve US relations with the rest of the world if elected. This time, in just two countries – Japan and Russia – did less than a majority agree with the general optimism of the latest survey. In Japan, 48% thought US relations would improve, while in Russia 47% of people surveyed expected an improvement. The most optimistic views were in Europe, where nearly 80% of those surveyed in Italy and Germany, for example, thought US relations with the rest of the world would improve under Mr Obama’s presidency. The survey was conducted for the BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan, with the Program on International Policy Attitudes (Pipa) at the University of Maryland in the US. “Familiarity with Obama seems to be breeding hope,” said Steven Kull, director of Pipa. “But then again, he is starting from a low baseline, following eight years of an unpopular US president. Maintaining this enthusiasm will be a challenge given the complexities he now faces.” (BBC News, January 20, 2009).
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READ THE REPORT: World Service Obama poll [2.26MB]
Never in history has a president of the United States taken the oath of office facing the difficulties that confront Barack Obama. Franklin Roosevelt assumed office amid an economic calamity but with a world at peace; Abraham Lincoln, a nation about to be torn apart by war, but relative prosperity at home.
With the American economy – and the world’s – sagging and two wars being fought thousands of miles away, the new Ppesident will rightfully devote his attention to these monumental challenges. But I hope there will be both the time and energy for a campaign to win back America’s reputation around the world.
It is unfortunate that such an effort is necessary. It wasn’t all that long ago when things were different, and the world stood with the US after September 11th. We were “all Americans” then. But the Bush Administration chose to go it alone. Now, after years of a “you’re with us or you’re against us” approach to US foreign policy and a deeply unpopular war in Iraq, America is more isolated, with a badly tarnished image, and the world less secure. Add the fact that many around the world blame the US as our financial crisis snowballs into a worldwide economic meltdown.
Changing some of our policies – such as closing Guantanamo Bay and addressing climate change – will remove some of the highly-charged issues that have affected our reputation. But policy changes alone won’t do the job. As president, Mr Obama, should launch – sooner rather than later — a public diplomacy campaign that redefines America’s engagement with the world community and its citizens. He should take the campaign around the world, and especially to the hotbeds of anti-Americanism (inthenews.co.uk, January 20, 2009).
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Secretary of State nominee Hillary Clinton began Tuesday to outline some of the incoming Obama administration’s plans for dealing with some of the nation’s biggest international challenges.At her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, she promised what she called a “smart power” approach to foreign policy issues, with “diplomacy in the vanguard” as well as development and military power.
Clinton’s appearance before the Senate panel was generally friendly, with the expectation on all sides that she would be confirmed. The only signs of concern about her nomination came from Republicans who wanted tighter measures to avoid conflicts of interest between Clinton’s role as secretary and her husband’s charitable foundation (Reuters, January 13, 2009).
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Read also in Greek: Το δόγμα της «έξυπνης ισχύος», ΤΑ ΝΕΑ, 14 Ιανουαρίου 2009
Obama’s first days inspire great hope of social and economic renewal but can America afford the promise he embodies? Living as I do in an extended Rooseveltian-Democrat family, in the heavily Democratic state of Connecticut, in the overwhelmingly Democratic city of New Haven, and teaching at undoubtedly liberal Yale University, I had no surprise in witnessing the steadily expanding family excitement as the Obama campaign unfolded. There were also no surprises when, in our local soup kitchen the day after the election, the predominantly African-American clientele was exhilarated, walking around the room and slapping each other’s fists. “You know, prof,” one of them told me, “I made my three young sons watch television all evening long. It was history. I wanted them to talk about this night in 2050.” So they will.
