June 22, 2008
Zimbabwe: A Lost Opportunity of American Leadership
In light of Morgan Tsvangirai's decision to drop out of Zimbabwe's presidential run-off election, the opposition party--Movement for Democratic Change--has officially failed its bid to end Mugabe's 28-year long tyrannical dictatorship. Citing unfair competition and continuous violence, Tsvangirai condemned the run-off race as illegitimate and does not want to continue for fear of causing more loss of lives due to this political struggle, though some Zimbabwean officials cite fear of an embarrassing defeat as the real reason behind Tsvangirai's withdrawal.
The continuation of Mugabe’s dictatorship in Zimbabwe deals a heavy blow to all who believes in democracy and freedom's power to bring prosperity and justice. When evaluating the situation further, it is even more disappointing to realize that there was little international intervention during the months of political violence--where innocent people were killed or detained and women were raped or abused all because of their political affiliation and civil opposition to the Mugabe government--to stop the repression and provide the necessary security to conduct a fair run-off election. It was a golden opportunity for the U.S. to exercise its global leadership, regain its international standing, and deliver the good that its democracy promoting platform promises. In her recent essay in Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State Condolezza Rice, forcefully and eloquently articulated a foreign policy platform where democratization continues to be the centerpiece of a so-called "American Realism" (combination of idealism and classic realism). Unfortunately, in the case of Zimbabwe, the U.S. failed to put its money where its mouth is, and allowed the opportunity to slip by. Since the Iraq War, the U.S. foreign policy establishment has been seemingly plagued by a shroud of fear of intervention even when its leadership is clearly called upon. The Burmese monk protest was one of these missed opportunities. The post-election violence in Kenya was another, but thanks to the aggressive leadership of Kofi Annan, a power-sharing deal was brokered and the Kenyan democratic institutions prevailed, though the U.S. had very little to do with it. The chaos in Zimbabwe presented another chance for President Bush to deliver his promise of democracy and end his disastrous foreign policy record on a high note, but he simply decided to put his hands in his pockets and went to Europe.
With one missed opportunity after another, it is not hard to become skeptical of the neo-conservative, democracy promoting doctrine of the Bush-Rice era, no matter how inspiring in words this doctrine sounds. Although Zimbabwe weighs very little in the calculus of U.S. national interest, it is not difficult to see how much benefit a humanitarian success story can bring to U.S. image around the world. This is not to say that we should only embark on a humanitarian mission if it improves our reputation; when people are suffering from brutal oppression from their leaders, the United States has an obligation to intervene to bring security and justice if a clear case for intervention is present. Two prominent scholars from the Center for Strategic and International Studies have already devised a workable plan for the U.S. to remove Mugabe's dictatorship and help improve and stabilize Zimbabwe's fledgling democracy, but our administration has decided to ignore it altogether.
Whether it is for our own interests or the interests of others, we should have intervened in Zimbabwe for the sake of democracy, freedom and humanitarianism--three concepts that should be resonating across the world but have been instead perceived as sugar coats for a selfish U.S. foreign policy. If the United States is truly committed to promoting democratic values and principles, which I imagine it will at least rhetorically, doesn't matter who becomes the next president, we must be ready to back our words with action when a justifiable case of intervention presents itself. Iraq of 2003 was not one of those cases, Zimbabwe of 2008 is. And until we deliver our promise, U.S. foreign policy will continue to bring more caution and fear than hope.
Posted by Kevin Xu at 07:41 PM | Comments (4)
June 16, 2008
Response: Obamamania Around the World
I am glad my last post has generated so many responses and questions. I will devote this entry to answering those qustions. (LeeAnn my response to your question is in the comment section of the previous post.)
To Vicky: I do believe the Japanese political drama is strongly influenced by Obama's ascendency into international prominence and popularity. The drama's title is "Change," which I think is no coincidence, and the Prime Minister's young and handsome image, as well as his struggle with older politicians both expresses Obama's current image and appeal and foreshadows his future challenges if he does become president. Obama craze in Japan has been around for quite a while now, with the Japanese town named Obama attracting thousands of tourists simply because its name is the same as the Illinois Senator's. However, the drama's rating has declined in recent weeks, so I guess the Japanese's disdain for politics in their pop culture is trumping even Obama's appeal. But there is no question that Obama's influence has penetrated the hearts and minds of the Japanese culture like no other foreign politician before him.
To David: Thank you for your thoughtful response, especially the article on Obama, Japan. Fascinating. I think you are absolutely spot on on Obama's need to encircle himself with like-minded foreign advisers. I would also like to add that it is even more important that he has a group of like-minded military advisers, especially the people on his Joint Chief of Staff. He will be facing some tough military decisions with Iran, and given his lack of foreign policy experience, he is vulnerable to blindly accepting the advise of his military confidantes and delegating too much power away from himself.
As far as I know, Obama's FP advisors are former national security advisors Zbigniew Brzezinski (under Carter) and Anthony Lake (under Clinton and likely pick for Secretary of State), former assistant secretary of state Susan Rice (Clinton), former navy secretary Richard Danzig, Joseph Cirincione (specializes in nuclear proliferation), Lawrence Korb of the Center for American Progress, and Richard Clarke. As we all know, prominent scholar, Samantha Power, quit because she called Hillary a monster during an interview. I have not heard Hagel being a member of Obama's foreign policy inner circle, but his background and experience, especially as a moderate Republican, can definitel add a new and much-appreciated perspective in Obama's team. I am actually rooting for Hagel to be the VP, thus completing the ultimate unity ticket.
Obama also has a formidable opponent in McCain who not only is more experienced in foreign policy but has a strong circle of advisors as well. I just found out that Randy Shriver and Mike Green are his two advisors on China and Japan respectively. While canvassing today, I talked to an African American man who strongly supports McCain because he thinks McCain can protect this country from attacks, especially by bin Laden, while Obama will only sit around, be a pansy and try to negotiate. This man says he cannot relate to Obama at all because he went to Ivy league schools and is an elite, while is a regular blue-collar worker. If Obama cannot convince his African American base that he is strong on foriegn policy, he will be in trouble this Fall. To prevent this scenario, I stand by my position that he should focus more on the economy in the the general election season.
Posted by Kevin Xu at 11:53 PM | Comments (1)
June 10, 2008
Obamamania Around the World
With Barack Obama officially securing the Democratic nomination and Hillary Clinton officially, albeit bitterly, endorsing him and offering him every ounce of her support, the rest of the world is cheering for the possibility of a new era of American foreign policy led by a man of racial minority, diverse upbringing, sensible outlook on foreign relations, and genuine commitment towards dialogue and diplomacy, even towards a country like Iran. Whether the United States' next president should engage Iran or not is no doubt a hotly debated topic within both the academic and the policymaking circle. No matter who comes on top in this debate, the mere possibility that the U.S. could have Obama as its next president has energized people in the rest of the world both in closed door cabinet meetings and in the neighborhood cafes. The very image of swearing in an articulate, intelligent, African American in January 2009 will, I believe, instantly restore American standing in the world, giving us a historic opportunity to reconstitute an effective, comprehensive and robust foreign policy. People in France and Germany, two of the most adamant opponents of the Iraq War, are already rejoicing over Obama nomination victory. In Japan, a new TV drama was released, starring the handsome and forever-popular Takuya Kimura (木村拓哉), who plays a young Japanese Prime Minister. This character embodies many of Obama's qualities and was repeatedly doubted and scolded by older Japanese politicians but eventually won the hearts of the Japanese people. Japanese TV rarely produces shows with political themes, but Obama's global popularity has swept the often self-contained and apathetic island by storm (and to have one of its cities share the same name as the Illinois Senator doesn't hurt either).
Ironically, his biggest opposition is at home. If Obama were to win the election, foreign policy will not be his trump card. His experience is thin and his track record is essentially non-existent. While there are many intangible appeals to his charisma and moving personal history, voters will look more towards experience and track record when they think about national security. McCain definitely has the edge in this debate, and it would be smart for Obama to steer the election towards the ailing economy, not on security, defense, or foreign policy. His team has already realized this it seems, as Obama embarks on a two-week tour through all the major battleground states to undermine McCains economic policies while re-introducing and re-enforcing his own.
I am confident that Obama's character and judgment will quickly and dramatically improve U.S. foreign policy and American standing in the world. But in order to do that, he must first win the election. And to win the election, he must first stick with the economy and exploit McCain's weakness.
Posted by Kevin Xu at 12:36 AM | Comments (4)
June 08, 2008
Introduction
Dear all,
As my first entry for the Watsonblog community, I feel it is appropriate that I provide a brief introduction of myself and what I hope to bring to the blogging community to keep things fresh, fun and fulfilling. This will be the only post where I will not focus on any specific topic, region, theme or event, but I hope this will shed light on things to come.
Born in China, immigrated to Canada at the age of 10, then to the United States at the age of 14, my politics and worldview are mostly shaped and affected by what I see and whom I have met, but rarely by what I've grown up hearing from my family. Having traveled to places that can be considered at least uncomfortable if not hostile for a Chinese national (i.e. Japan, Tibet, Xinjiang) and having worked for almost three years for a long-time Chinese political dissident who was imprisoned for 16 years, my views hardly resemble what you may get from a typical Chinese-American youth but there are certain elements of my belief that are shaped by the simple fact that I am an ethnic Chinese, and I have no intention of shedding these elements for they are an integral part of my identity.
It should be no surprise that the majority of my posting will focus on East Asian affairs, for I have a strong personal affinity to the region and a natural linguistic advantage that allows me to access more materials. However, I do intend on covering all major regions of the world. My interest in international affairs is truly global, and through blogging, I hope to motivate myself to learn more about parts of the world that I am unfamiliar with. I hope my friends and readers of this blog will keep me disciplined and accountable to my commitment.
I will try my best to compose high quality entries, with concise, pointed and insightful analysis of world affairs and avoid aimless rambling. However, I do not intend to keep my political and personal views consistent for the sake of uniformity because I am still in the process of shaping my perspectives, and it is important for me (and for everyone) to reserve some space for intellectual flexibility. Through blogging and interacting with your (hopefully constant, provocative and profanity-free) comments, I hope to wrestle with many different ideas that will eventually help me develop a sensible understanding of the world and myself. One thing is for certain, I will not blindly adhere to any ideology for the sake of consistency and belonging. My goal is to synthesize ideologies and theories with realities and, most importantly, common sense, in order to interpret the events and trends of our world in a way that offers optimism and opportunity for the advancement of human civilization.
I appreciate your time and consideration, and I look forward to many scintillating discussions in the future.
KX
Posted by Kevin Xu at 12:45 AM | Comments (2)