Bruce Ackerman
US should not let Europe slip away
By Bruce Ackerman
In his West Point speech Wednesday, President Obama remained trapped by the paradigm that has governed our foreign policy since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
From the first Gulf War to the ongoing conflict in Syria, the United States has endlessly debated how and whether to intervene to defeat aggression and protect human rights. Obama responded by charting a moderate course between the past decade’s military interventionism and the easy answers of isolationism.
But he failed to address a different problem that should be dominating future debate. The issue is raised by the extraordinary success of the radical right in the recent European parliamentary elections.
Until now, we have blithely supposed that Europe was firmly committed to principles of liberal democracy and that the Euro-American example would continue to inspire similar movements throughout the world. The election reports shatter this illusion. Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, famously described the UK Independence Party as the home of “fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists.” But the Ukip won a plurality of British votes in the campaign for the European Parliament with 27.5 percent of the vote, forcing Cameron’s Conservatives into the third spot.
France’s National Front is rooted in a history of blatant, not closeted, racism and anti-Semitism. Like the UKIP, it also beat all its competitors, taking 25 percent of the vote. So the election has greatly enhanced the extreme right’s political respectability, but only the next few years will determine whether it is a first step toward the triumph of aggressive nationalism and the destruction of fundamental rights in Europe.
The world’s great experiment in constitutional democracy and human rights has its philosophical roots in Europe. If it fails there, the repercussions will be felt everywhere — not least in the United States. The time for creative reconstruction of trans-Atlantic relationships is now. Given the still-strong support for liberal values on the continent, a Europe-first strategy can generate big breakthroughs that are unlikely on other fronts.
He also should move beyond economics to recommit the trans-Atlantic community to more fundamental values. Edward Snowden’s revelations, for example, mark a crossroads: They may increase moral estrangement between Europe and America, or they may provoke serious treaty negotiations that will reaffirm fundamental principles of privacy in the sphere of national security.
These things won’t happen easily. A trade agreement requires Obama and European leaders to overcome formidable protectionist opposition; a surveillance agreement requires them to overcome powerful resistance from their respective intelligence agencies. Without a sense of urgency, nothing will happen. But if political leaders rise to the occasion, they could make a compelling case to the broader public on both sides of the Atlantic, which has not yet forgotten the nationalist tragedies of the 20th century. Nothing is certain in politics. We may be lucky, and an economic recovery may propel the Europeans to reject aggressive nationalism in the years ahead. But it is folly to trust the invisible hand when the stakes are so high. WP-BLOOMBERG
US should not let Europe slip away
By Bruce Ackerman
In his West Point speech Wednesday, President Obama remained trapped by the paradigm that has governed our foreign policy since the fall of the Berlin Wall.
From the first Gulf War to the ongoing conflict in Syria, the United States has endlessly debated how and whether to intervene to defeat aggression and protect human rights. Obama responded by charting a moderate course between the past decade’s military interventionism and the easy answers of isolationism.
But he failed to address a different problem that should be dominating future debate. The issue is raised by the extraordinary success of the radical right in the recent European parliamentary elections.
Until now, we have blithely supposed that Europe was firmly committed to principles of liberal democracy and that the Euro-American example would continue to inspire similar movements throughout the world. The election reports shatter this illusion. Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, famously described the UK Independence Party as the home of “fruitcakes and loonies and closet racists.” But the Ukip won a plurality of British votes in the campaign for the European Parliament with 27.5 percent of the vote, forcing Cameron’s Conservatives into the third spot.
France’s National Front is rooted in a history of blatant, not closeted, racism and anti-Semitism. Like the UKIP, it also beat all its competitors, taking 25 percent of the vote. So the election has greatly enhanced the extreme right’s political respectability, but only the next few years will determine whether it is a first step toward the triumph of aggressive nationalism and the destruction of fundamental rights in Europe.
The world’s great experiment in constitutional democracy and human rights has its philosophical roots in Europe. If it fails there, the repercussions will be felt everywhere — not least in the United States. The time for creative reconstruction of trans-Atlantic relationships is now. Given the still-strong support for liberal values on the continent, a Europe-first strategy can generate big breakthroughs that are unlikely on other fronts.
He also should move beyond economics to recommit the trans-Atlantic community to more fundamental values. Edward Snowden’s revelations, for example, mark a crossroads: They may increase moral estrangement between Europe and America, or they may provoke serious treaty negotiations that will reaffirm fundamental principles of privacy in the sphere of national security.
These things won’t happen easily. A trade agreement requires Obama and European leaders to overcome formidable protectionist opposition; a surveillance agreement requires them to overcome powerful resistance from their respective intelligence agencies. Without a sense of urgency, nothing will happen. But if political leaders rise to the occasion, they could make a compelling case to the broader public on both sides of the Atlantic, which has not yet forgotten the nationalist tragedies of the 20th century. Nothing is certain in politics. We may be lucky, and an economic recovery may propel the Europeans to reject aggressive nationalism in the years ahead. But it is folly to trust the invisible hand when the stakes are so high. WP-BLOOMBERG
