29 February 2008
Rice Looks at U.S. Diplomacy in the 21st Century
International politics is becoming more decentralized
Washington -- The interdependence among peoples and governments and the rapid international movement of information, money, technology and people are the main drivers of change today. "This is commonly referred to as globalization, and it is, indeed, transforming our world in two important ways," says Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Globalization is empowering those nations that can seize its benefits, and at the same time, it is revealing the weaknesses of many others and their inability to govern effectively, Rice says. "Globalization is not displacing the importance of geopolitics, as many assumed that it would in the last decade. Rather, it is reshaping it."
The landscape of international politics is becoming more decentralized as more countries are pursuing their interests vigorously, she says.
"Perhaps our greatest foreign policy challenge, now and in decades to come, then, stems from the many states that are simply too weak, too corrupt or too poorly governed to perform even basic sovereign responsibilities like policing their territory, governing justly, enabling the potential of their people and preventing the threats that gather within their countries from destabilizing their neighbors and, ultimately, the international system," Rice said in a recent speech at Georgetown University on the emerging nature of U.S. transformational diplomacy.
The challenge for the United States, Rice says, is to fashion a foreign policy and national security strategy that focuses on working with international partners to build and to sustain a world of democratic, well-governed states. It requires nations to respond to the needs of their people, reduce widespread poverty and conduct themselves responsibly in the global system.
Meeting those 21st-century challenges will not occur through military power or any other means alone, but will require the full integration of defense, diplomacy, development assistance, democracy promotion efforts, free trade and the work of the private sector and society, Rice says.
"The United States has national interests and we use our power to advance them. But what has always distinguished America is that we are a people united and led into the world by universal ideals, our conviction that all human beings are born free, equal in dignity, deserving of justice, the protections of law, and that the most responsible governments are those that respect the rights of their people," Rice says.
Much was lost during the 1990s when the United States looked to cash in on a peace dividend following the end of the Cold War. Since 2001, however, the United States has begun the long-term effort of rebuilding and transforming American diplomacy to reflect the highly dynamic world of the new century.
"To fulfill this mandate, transformational diplomacy requires a civilian-led, whole-of-government approach to the challenges of our time," Rice says.
Consider, she says, the approach taken with Colombia.
"Several years ago, Colombia was on the verge of becoming a failed state. Insurgents were winning the war, thousands were fleeing their homes, and the democratic government was losing control, literally physical control, of parts of the country," Rice says.
The Clinton administration began a strategy to help Colombia recover control and the Bush administration has sustained and expanded that plan, a comprehensive strategy to support Colombia, she says.
"Our diplomats have led a country team that unites our law enforcement agencies, our military, our development professionals and our trade negotiators. And we have helped our democratic allies in Colombia to reclaim their country and improve the [lives] of their people," Rice says. "Efforts like these are a foundation for future progress."
The success of U.S. efforts globally will be determined by the progress countries make in moving from war to peace, despotism to democracy, poverty and inequality to prosperity and social justice, Rice says. It requires a diplomatic posture that reflects the landscape of international politics in the 21st century.
