From Stephen Salyer, President & Chief Executive Officer, Salzburg Global Seminar
Today in Salzburg an exceptional international cast is gathered to consider “the world’s advice to the newly elected Obama Administration.” Next week, session representatives will brief a “Members-Only Congressional Breakfast” at the U.S. Capitol on the ideas and recommendations flowing from this extraordinary assembly.
It’s an historic time, with people in every part of the world demanding inspired leadership. The Seminar is pleased to be part of this exchange – helping translate world views for the new U.S. Administration, and in turn helping the world understand and make the most of the changes that are underway in Washington.
Earlier today, Sashi Tharoor, former Under Secretary General of the United Nations and columnist for the Times of India, offered his own ideas and then fielded incisive questions and comments from attending fellows from some thirty countries.
We want the Salzburg community more broadly to participate, and I invite you today to join the conversation. Please offer a short reply to one or both of the following questions:
What is the single most important action the new American administration could take that would build its credibility with the world community?
What step(s) can the Seminar take to best serve the world in this urgent moment?
Friday, November 14, 2008
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50 comments:
In that order:
1 - close the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp.
2 - focus on catching Osama Bin Laden
3 - help U.S. main street keep their homes.
4 - sign the Kyoto agreement, and stick to it!
President Obama needs to move forward quickly on promoting the development of renewable alternative energy sources. The U.S. must take decisive steps toward weening itself off its dependence on oil and set the example for other oil dependent nations to follow.
The single most important decision facing President Obama on the international scene concerns Pakistan. He needs to get Pakistan right.
Indeed, it is a coup-prone, financially struggling, nuclear-armed nation of 170 million and the likely residence of Al Qaeda leadership. On the other hand its overall moderate electorate consistently rejects Islamic fundamentalist parties in favor of (corrupt but relatively) secular options.
How President Obama decides deals with Pakistan - carrots, sticks, or both; will have global repurcussions. Alienate Pakistan and risk a security threat that makes Al Qaeda and the Taliban pale in comparison. Embrace specific Pakistani leaders without a fundamental review of the relationship with the country, and risk a continuation of the failed Bush policies.
There are no easy answers, but I hope President Obama and a strong foreign policy team will have the wisdom to find the correct path.
Adil Husain
Emerging Asia
[1] The US should announce its explicit rejection of the unilateral stance taken by the Bush 43 administration, rescind its most offensive executive actions ASAP, and confirm its renewed commitment to working together with the global community to collaboratively address the most important strategic challenges facing us all.
[2] SGS should convene a session in early 2009 on developing an integrated framework for identifying and addressing the most pressing of those strategic issues, including recommendations for promoting the kind of responsible/collaborative US leadership that has been missing the past 8 years.
1) Creating an appropriate global financial architecture to deal with the present crisis and to avoid repetition.Include emerging markets like India-China to be part of the current G-8. Also need to create global stabilisation mechanisms to help minimise impact of contagions.
2)Pakistan should be prority number one --in foreign affairs-- since it is facing severe Economic crisis--It is a nuclear weapon owning large Islamic country torn by religious clashes.
It is required for the US adminstration to focus on that part of the world urgently.
Prof. Vaidyanathan R
Bangalore --India
Just concentrate on being itself and not believe that it is a force for good in the world ! Get rid of the hypcrisy of liberal ideology and act like a normal state . Understand that the ideology of the USA and it's founding fathers are not universal and neither is the remedy to human distress applicable to people who have nothing in common with it . Stop congratulating itself for electing Obama , for I think most intelligent people across the world realise and understand , that there is unlikely to be any change of heart as to the fundamental belief of the importance of "Liberal Western" values as the only , true and universal way , and that it is in the interest of all the rest of the world to adopt it . I agree that there may be a change in the strategy but it is unlike to deviate from core goals of western countries , just like may I remind everyone , there was a change from the Clinton ( who was percieved as being 'soft') to Bush ( who was being percieved as being 'hard' ) . The only advise I would like to give Obama is to stop sermonising the world , since the world is different from 1992 , when the Soviet Union had just collapsed . The rest of the world is much wiser and dare I say much more circumspect about "fundamental changes" being ushered in by USA.
The USA President should not lie, specially deliberately lie. Even if it may soud exotic or naive, there is an ethic in politics and it is becoming more and more crucial. When most people don´t believe or trust the US President, either domestically or internationally, he (or she, when the time comes) will no longer be able to move a single step forward. This wil become particularly dangerous if imediate or by general consent action is needed, as in the case of a war, environmental hazard, economic crisis, and so on and so forth.
Indeed, to my mind, the single most important action the new American administration could take that would build its credibility with the world community, is to make education (and related opportunities or programmes) more accessible especially in parts of the world where women have been oppressed and their voices suppressed. It is such education - to which quite a few of us in Africa (Southern Africa in particular) have been exposed through programmes such as Fulbright and more recently for me, the Salzburg Global Seminar. Unless we access the voices of ordinary people - because they have been empowered through education - power will continue to be abused. These are some of the issues debated during programmes such as the Salzburg Global Seminar. For example, in Southern Africa it is extremely tough to access local grants or scholarships for those who are most in need of it. Currently, Governments in Southern Africa have resorted to making loans rather than bursaries available.
Steps for improving the conditions in our world must focus on continuous or life-long education. This approach deserves more attention and, therefore, funding. In reality, education in this part of the world is often perceived as being a privilege rather than a right. Issues of cultural diversity, freedom of expression and tolerance must be addressed in the type of education I'm advocating. It is do-able, I believe.
1) It is not an easy task to tell a foreign President which should be his priorities! Of course, America first...but how?
In my opinion the relationship with EU should be strengthened on a basis of a broad understanding (reciprocal)and not just on confrontation.
The same should happen with Russia: although the two powerful nations have diverging interests they face the same future, with China and India overcoming soon the economical gap.
One more challenge for USA is the Israeli-Arab conflict, which needs to be solved; the more fast and just the agreement will be, the more Islamic radicalism will be deprived of its main pretext.
2) Salzburg Seminar should focus on the cultural and social main issue of EU as immigration and integration is already, becoming sometimes instrumental for racism.
Federico Steinhaus, Italy
International officer of Lions Clubs International
The single most important action is to prepare a strategy on revising trust toward small nations (small in terms of economic power and number of population). Mr Obama should know best the words of "I have a dream..." and that the World today needs a clear sign of "large" countries not hurting the dreams of "small" coutnries. USA is in a position to make a difference and to lead other "large" countries in this "revising trust" strategy.
Create an American health social security system Scandinavian-style
Forget the old administration,not to give a continuity style but the new creativity that people vote for.This vote need to change the interior of America and stope the military expansion of the blank and the poverty of thought!
The United States should announce its trust and commitment to the United Nations and take a lead role in contributing to the resolution of the multitude of world-wide economic, environmental and social problems that have arisen and intensified due since the end of the cold war. The United Nations is the one and only legitimate world forum and it needs the goodwill and provision of resources towards making our one world better and securing the future.
SGS should convene a global dialogue/summitt to address and prioritize the pressing issues of our time.
A quick and extremely meaningful act will be to show leadership in the on-going talks on climate change. This issue is one that links many others and will be a global priority for the next several decades. Acting now, including sending a shadow delegation to the Poznan negotiations that will start in two weeks (the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) will re-establish the US.
The international public sector will clearly grow during the coming years. As an intellectual founder of the United Nations and as its major individual nation-state contributor, the United States has an interest in its reform and management. The United States should take a lead in helping make the international public sector effective in managing global problems, by focusing on issues of human resources, finance and management.
nice article
could rely much more on the traditional and admirable American strengths of product innovation, technology upgradation and higher productivity to provide the real thrust for pulling out the US economy from the recession in which it has unmistakably slipped. Mr. Obama has himself emphasized these during his campaign. He will find out very quickly that in this positive approach for handling the global economic downturn, India with its dynamic entrepreneurs and large supply of technical professionals has a lot to offer. A knowledge economy based Indo-US partnership can not only be a win-win for the world’s two largest democracies but also have significant positive externalities for the rest of the world.
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could rely much more on the traditional and admirable American strengths of product innovation, technology upgradation and higher productivity to provide the real thrust for pulling out the US economy from the recession in which it has unmistakably slipped. Mr. Obama has himself emphasized these during his campaign. He will find out very quickly that in this positive approach for handling the global economic downturn, India with its dynamic entrepreneurs and large supply of technical professionals has a lot to offer. A knowledge economy based Indo-US partnership can not only be a win-win for the world’s two largest democracies but also have significant positive externalities for the rest of the world.
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It is important to bring Africa into the right context. President Obama's eyes cannot be removed from Africa, obviously, but he cannot afford to pamper the Continent. The Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) has been a route available to really help Africa achieve some developmental objectives, but much of it has been only on paper and not implemented. Africa cannot be neglected at this time, not with the amount of potential human and natural resources resident in it. Or the negative global consequences that failing to tap into these potentials timely will bring. However, corrupt leaders in Africa must be made to know that their times are up and only those that support human development through good leadership that will be given the support necessary from the coming administration.
1) Aside from the pressing need to deal with the financial crisis and its impact on the real economy the Obama administration should be a constructive force in international efforts to address the challenges of climate change.
2) Domestically, any economic stimulus package should be geared heavily towards renewable sources of energy rather than “traditional” infrastructure spending (roads etc.).
The key item is TRUST. President Obama needs to take steps to cultivate trust, and show that he is a trusted ally to all nations, big and small. He can do this, by getting on board with an issue that is of central importance to most countries - the issue of Climate Change, for example. President Obama should state categorically that America will work along with other countries to address the problems of Climate Change. As a start, he could take steps that would lead to the ratification of the Kyoto treaty. This way, he would be showing that he understands and that he also cares. He would also be showing his willingness to work with the world in addressing the key problems of the world. YES, WE CAN!!
Obama should try to restore the confidence of the Americans (and hence the world) in the US financial system by identifying and publishing in detail what went wrong in the Wall Street, and how he is going to address the problems, one of which would probably be the lack of transparency in the past.
Being the sole super power, the responsibilities of the US are much higher than any other nation in the world. Obama’s selection is seen with a great hope across the world. The new administration must treat the world fairly and abandon double-standards. It should play a role in resolving outstanding issues especially in the Middle East and the Sub-continent. Obama should prove the world that real power of the US is democracy, not weapons.
Strive at truly uniting the people of the united states (whites, blacks, latino's, muslims, etc) concerning action aimed at meeting the most urgent challenges of todays major problems.
**What is the single most important action the new American administration could take that would build its credibility with the world community?**
[1] Listen seriously, let go of the belief of moral superiority and show willingness to engage earnestly in multi-stakeholder debate.
**What step(s) can the Seminar take to best serve the world in this urgent moment?**
[2] Be a proponent of SYSTEMIC APPROACHES to Global issues (overcoming 'pillared approaches')
and support multi-stakeholder governance PROCESSES (iso global government institutions).
The single most important action is to sign the Kyoto Protocol
(second: comply with the International Court in The Hague; and, of course, close Guantanamo - yet this alone would only be a weak sign ...)
What steps by the SGS?
Encourage & facilitate workshop-type meetings of American and European intellectuals to discuss European and American outlooks on the future and disseminate results of such debates to the broader public. Initial meeting may take place in Salzburg, to be followed alternately by American and European locations (in a variety of states).
Most important "change we can believe in" in U.S. foreign policy:return to multilateralism, serious deliberation with democratic allies and partners, honest if firm talks with adversaries, adherence to international law and U.N.decisions.
I think that the single most important action the new American administration could take that would build its credibility with the world community is to start the RECOVERY of the US in its moral, economic, and sociocultural aspects (in that order). "This world crisis are crisis of saints," a holy man said. Any country needs a leader with virtues (especially integrity, honesty and real concern for the common good), vision, and vitality/dynamism. The US, being the only superpower and the vanguard of democracy for the whole world, needs leaders who are exemplary and who are willing to sacrifice themselves to do all the good they can and to really serve the people under their care.
I think the Seminar, to best serve the world in this urgent moment, needs to organize seminars along the line of Leadership, Economic Recovery, the Global Village, Intercultural Exchange, etc.
Do more than sign the Kyoto agreement--take leadership in facing the global warming crisis. Consider that poorer nations are and will be affected first by changes in climate but that we will all be damaged by irreversible changes. Consider the facts, completely fund economic changes in both energy creation and consumption, and commit the U.S. to being "green" in ten years. In this way, we can then help other nations achieve the Kyoto accord from a position of experience rather than hypocrisy. As long as Americans consume four times as much as others in the world, we will not have the ethical position that we could have--and the world knows this. As leaders have already stated, this is now not only an environmental issue, but a food issue, a human rights issue, and an issue of national safety and world stability.
Nick said the new US administration will need to listen more to the rest of the world and a dose of humility will be needed if the US is to lose its image of arogance which has been such a dominant feature of recent years.Concretely a more positive engagement in multilateral processes is required climate,human rights etc.To do this some urgent national policies are essential rather than smokescreens and excuses.Clearly the administration must be able to show that it is not in the pocket of corporate america.
It is one thing to promise, it is quite another thing to deliver. We all know that it is the victory of an individual despite many odds. Obama won not because he is a black, with a Muslim middle name and young person but despite of that.
His success cannot be easily emulated elsewhere. We cannot say that a Dalit( oppressed) should/can become a Prime Minister of India. We should not forget that Sonia Gandhi had to surrender her claim over Prime minister ship due to her Italian origin.India, a great democracy ,could not accept a naturalized citizen as Prime Minister, though it did accept Sonia Gandhi as a member of the Lok Sabha.But nobody can deny that Sonia Gandhi holds tremendous powers and resources even today.
Actually in today's scenario, the President of the United States needs a lot of persuasive powers rather than authoritative ones.I admire Obama for his courage to say that America made some mistakes in recent past and he would like to fix them.
We should not be guided too much by exceptions. Nor should we forget that the USA lost opportunity of the services of many more blacks and brilliant women who could have risen to the top even before Obama.We must accept that there are limits of democracy.
Even Obama had to convince the people in America that he is not a Muslim despite a Muslim middle name. He could not convince that it doesn't really matter what religion he follows. Nor could he argue that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism! Perhaps a fear psyche matters more that rationality with an average voter.
There are so many urgent important steps that he need to take that it is difficult to specify one as being more important than another.
He needs to demonstrate very early that he is not more of the same and re-establish world trust in the US. His first actions must be to demonstrate deep committment and activity to solving the Middle East and in particular the Palestine/Israel conflicts in line with UN resolutions.
What can the Salzburg Seminar do?Identify issues and inform public opinion and specifically opinion formers,by bringing together the best experts in the world on these issues to tease out common ground between conflicting views using conflict resolution methods.
Ralph Land
1. U.S.: We must demonstrate to the world that we are serious about the environment: thus we should join the Kyoto protocol forthwith and take a leadership role in its successor.
2. Salzburg Seminar: Encourage through seminars and other means the notion that our scientific endeavours and discoveries must never be impacted or jeopardized by misplaced and misinformed religious or partisan/political agendae
I agree with Bill: I think a seminar to develop a useful conceptual framework for American (re)engagement, and in the process identifying and proposing genuine strategy for each element of engagement would be a valuable contribution and an excellent tool to pull others more deeply into the conversation.
Bring US policy in line with our fundamental values...that means I agree with what Walter and many others are saying. Close Guantanamo, sign Kyoto, work multilaterally to resolve the world economic crisis, pursue arms control and other common areas of interest with Russia.
The Bulgarian proverb says, "eye can see everything but itself." I believe "democracy can see everything but itself." I urge the new American administration to try to see the "American democracy" through the eyes of the non-Americans, especially those in the Middle East and Arab countries.
The original aim of the Salzburg Seminar was to enhance "mutual" understanding between Europe and USA after World War II. I believe it should be now to enhance two-way understanding between the West and the Arabs/Muslims after World Wars II+.
This is a conversation between an Arab ruler (AR) and an American president (AP).
AR: What is the average monthly salary of the American employee, Mr. President?
AP: Around $5000.
AR: How much does (s)he spend monthly?
AP: About $2800.
AR: That means (s)he has $2200 remaining. What does (s)he do with this amount of money?
AP: In fact, because we are a democratic country, we don’t ask him/her. And you, your Highness, what is the average salary of the employee in your country?
AR: About $200.
AP: How much does (s)he spend?
AR: Around $1000.
AP: From where does (s)he get that big difference?
AR: In fact, because we are also a democratic country exactly like you, we don’t ask him/her either.
"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.” These are the first words in Mr. Obama victory speech. Are they any different from those of a Christian or Muslim preacher?
The problem of American leaderships, and that of American people, is that they question only whether they did well in spreading American values, but never question whether their values are acceptable to, or good for, the others.
Muslims believe that Islam is the best for the world; Christians believe that Christianity is the best for the world; Buddhists believe that Buddhism is the best for the world; Americans believe that “Americanism” is the best for the world.
The vicious logic of power: if we are the most powerful, then, we cannot be any wrong.
Year 193 AD and year 2009 AD are two similar years. In 193, Mr. Septimius Severus became the first Roman emperor of African origins; in 2009, Mr. Barack Obama became the first American president of African origins.
This is a serious talk between an American environmentalist (AE) and a Third/Fourth World commoner-citizen (TWC).
AE: What do you expect from President Obama with regard to sustainable development, climatic changes and biodiversity?
TWC: Please talk English.
AE: I mean what you ask him to do to protect, for example, endangered species from extinction in your country.
TWC: Why should I care about en-dan-gered species while my own sons are the most en-dan-gered on Earth!
Very good argument, satyananda.
What we can expect from President Obama depends on how Mr. Obama became an American president: was it because of his African origins or because of his sailing away from his Islamic origins?
Two actions America could take to build its credibility with the world community:
Promote the ethics of a nonviolence as world policy basis.
Support of the United Nations in popularization of ideas of human rights and of preservation of a cultural variety as a status of universal value and as a regulator of the international relations.
MSABA, Moscow
The single most important action the new American administration could take that would build its credibility with the world community is to commit themselves with the promises during the current campaign: Troops out of Iraq, close Guantanamo...
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The single most important action that the United States can take to build its credibility with the world is to, first, resolve its internal contradictions, before venturing out to resolve the external contradictions it faces in the world outside. There is a lot that remains undone in the US of A. If the United States fails to do so, it will have a domino effect in the rest of the world such as we are witnessing. Exhibit ‘A’ is the current economic ‘crisis of the century’ it is embroiled in today, as ‘quoted’ by Obama himself during the campaign. The world can only become America’s oyster, if the world sees that America can manage its own affairs efficiently. The current economic meltdown in America is due to reasons that America refuses to acknowledge as such, namely, a) ‘rabid consumerism’ that has hollowed out its credit and mortgage laden economy b) wars that have been eating up what’s left of it c) the seriousness of the environment and energy crisis; and, most importantly, d) a blind adherence to a foreign policy that favors only its self-interest sometimes even at the expense of its own golden principles of democratic norms, rule of law, freedom and sovereignty of other peoples and countries of the world as much as it cherishes its own. America needs to re-invent itself in ways that it is quite familiar with and that have been elemental in making it the great country that it was and can once again become. Arguably, America is the only civilization in the history of the world that possesses the ways and means, the wherewithal to correct its own errors. This requires some doing, but it can surely be done. The world is waiting and watching, for when America is in pain, the world groans. Physician, heal thyself!
2.
The Salzburg Global needs to gather together the beautiful minds of the nations of the world that can go beyond the symptoms in analyzing and proposing a prescription as what needs to be done. The American Studies program can take the initiative in this effort. We need a psychological assessment as to how the peoples of the world can counter and contain the worst effects of modernization that is consumerism, which propels the world into a market that entices them to buy and buy and consume and use what they cannot afford, thus burdening the economies into bankruptcy. For instance, the credit market must have a cap, beyond which it cannot be utilized; trade and commerce must not overreach a limitation and creates huge deficits; goods and services and the technology that governs them must not be churned out at such a ferocious pace as to go haywire and benumb the benign. In other words, temptations must decrease in most sectors of all societies, and solutions for this, besides protectionism, can be formulated. This is not to say that innovations in science and technology must end, just that it must not outpace and go beyond a generation’s legitimate needs. Salzburg Global programs can do a lot in these and other areas to help the peoples redefine their own and Americas’ future as the leading nation of the world.
The Obama Administration should create an Office of Multilateral Environmental Agreements to streamline, coordinate and finance U.S. international environmental policy,as recommended by my employer,the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, The MEA Representative should have the rank of Ambassador and my personal choice for the post is Al Gore.
I wish he “imposes” American democracy on all dictatorships, not to use it as a kind of punishment only for anti-Americanism dictatorships.
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