With the ongoing events in Ukraine dominating headlines, we at The Daily Cardinal feel it’s important to take a step back and observe the situation not only in Eastern Europe, but throughout the Middle East and elsewhere, from abroad and, importantly, honest perspective.
Much of the angst about the situation between the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the series of Arab Spring revolutions is about America’s seeming inability to control global affairs like we used to. We want desperately to be the world’s policemen, but it seems our badge has been snatched off our chest. So, instead, we wander the world expecting respect and demanding authority but increasingly get neither.
Why? And what can we do about it?
Being careful not to downplay the geographic, cultural and historical factors that all play into what path young, malleable countries take, we must recognize that if we want people to respect and look up to us, we must make America, and democracy, desirable again. If we do that, the luster will be irresistible, and many foreign policy initiatives should take care of themselves.
This is what we are up against: China, while now slowing down, has grown faster over the last 20 years than the U.S. ever has in the same amount of time. It now rivals the American economy, and experts say by 2016 – just two years from now – it will be larger. Not surprisingly, China’s economic success has meant increasingly influence geopolitical status. (Showdowns in the waters off Japan and China may offer clues about just how powerful they now are). This means that countries around the world are looking to China as both an example of how to succeed in the 21st t century and as a desirable economic and political partner, where just 20 years ago they looked solely to the United States. What’s more, a coalition of other developing countries, from Brazil to India to, yes, Russia, have tightened ties and present a formidable force in the new battle over influence. In Africa, for instance, emerging economies like China and Brazil have invested huge sums of money and are playing the role that otherwise would have been played by Western institutions like the IMF. The argument can be made that in the most vulnerable and fastest growing places in the world, China and other non-western allies are winning the battle for influence.
These rising spheres of influence look all the more powerful when you compare them to the recent troubles of traditional powers, namely the U.S. In the last 10 years, we have engaged in two controversial wars that have largely failed to accomplish their initial objectives. We have been the center of and largely at fault for a massive, global economic collapse that much of the world is still reeling from. On top of all that, headlines around the world expose and poke fun at the glaring inefficiencies, quasi corruption and ineffectiveness of our federal government, supposedly the envy of the world. Most of these same problems also plague our democratically elected European allies. The Washington Consensus, it seems, needs a makeover.
So, when putting yourself in the shoes of a young Egyptian, Libyan or Ukrainian, it’s a fair question to ask: Do you want your country to look and feel more like China, or a Western country like the U.S.? More broadly, is democracy all its chalked up to be?
The answer to the last question is yes. But right now, the answer to the first is up for grabs.
No matter the support - like ensuring free elections, protecting from cronyism and corruption, establishing quality, free press, and help with finances - we offer a fledgling democracy in a country like Ukraine, it is almost secondary. What must come first is a people convinced it’s the right path to take.
The good news is that as long as we retain the world's most educated and innovative people, protect freedom of press and maintain our rock solid institutions, we have the upper hand. Historically, democracies have better human rights records, are more likely to stay out of armed conflicts, are better at combating corruption, and are on average wealthier. None of this mentions the deepest appeal democracy offers: it is (ideally) a government by the people, for the people, and freedom is its foundation. Many countries cannot say the same.
But in order to fine tune our democratic machine, one that has received much criticism lately, we can do a few important things: Pass campaign finance reform once and for all, find solutions to gerrymandering (look to California for a model), make democracy more democratic using the newest technology, to name a few. These reforms, along with a revived economy, are essential if we are to create a system others will be envious of. But it won’t be easy, as efforts to pass such legislation in the past have failed.
Whether it’s ego that facilitates our outdated sense of outright superiority, or denial that causes us to speak loudly and carry large-but unwieldy and brittle-stick, we are delaying an all-important intervention.
Our great country, the greatest the world has ever seen, has faced many challenges throughout its history. And it has been the times of great struggle, when we were forced to look ourselves in the mirror, and challenge to be better. We do that, and the world will follow.
