Towards a Better Informed, More Peaceful World
Towards a Better Informed, More Peaceful World
by Lee Howard
New London Times
September 1, 2005
An interview with Eugene Kogan:
Eugene B. Kogan is a 2003 magna cum laude graduate and trustee of Connecticut College and a senior political analyst for Americans for Informed Democracy (aidemocracy.org) in New Haven. He will soon go to London to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he will study the nature and limitations of American power in the post-9/11 world. Kogan recently wrote a paper titled "The War Congress: Shouldering the Responsibilities of a U.S. Global Role" (available online at aidemocracy.org/warcongress.pdf) that documents "the failures of U.S. Congress's oversight over foreign policy since Sept. 11, 2001, and warns that this trend can compromise the ability of the United States to build a more secure world."
In an e-mail interview with the Times, Kogan spoke about promoting democracy in Iraq and other parts of the world, terrorism, and the value of study abroad programs at universities.
Q: Tell me a little bit about Americans for Informed Democracy: Why was it started, when was it started, and what are its main goals? How does one become involved?
A: Americans for Informed Democracy, a non-partisan 501(c)(3) organization, is a pioneer in "reverse public diplomacy" -- using the knowledge and passion of young Americans who have been abroad to raise awareness in the U.S. about global issues. AID seeks to inspire a new generation of internationalist leaders and to promote a U.S. foreign policy appropriate for our increasingly interdependent world. AID was founded at Oxford University in October of 2002 and now has representation at over 250 U.S. universities.
Q: Americans for Informed Democracy seeks to promote a positive view of Americans. What are some of the big negatives you are hearing about Americans today, and how can we turn world opinion around on those fronts?
A: Many people abroad are critical of the actions of the U.S. government, and do not specifically hold a negative view of the American people. One of the most oft-used criticisms of the United States is that it acts unilaterally and does not have, in the words of the Declaration of Independence, "a decent respect for the opinions of mankind." Turning the world opinion around on this issue is important because we need the cooperation of our allies on many international initiatives, including the war on terrorism. In order to be seen as less arrogant and unilateral, the United States can acknowledge that multilateral organizations, such as the United Nations, play a vital role in forging the international agreement behind many projects that are vital to U.S. national security. For instance, an international consensus is finally emerging on the unacceptability of terrorist violence. The High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, tasked by the U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan with formulating reform proposals for the U.N., stated in its report of December 2004 that "terrorism is never an acceptable tactic, even for the most defensible causes." The Panel specifically rejected the oft-used justification for terrorism as a form of anti-occupation struggle (for instance, Palestinian "resistance" against Israeli occupation): "there is nothing in the fact of occupation that justifies the targeting and killing of civilians."
Q: Some have argued that democracy works in places like America and Western Europe that have a history of greater personal freedom than in other places around the world, and that places like Iraq cannot be "forced" to provide its people the freedoms of democracy without a change in people's mindset. Do you agree with this idea? Do you think democracy is possible in Iraq at this stage?
A: Democracy is a way of governance. It characterizes the processes of a government that derives its power from the people it serves. Democracy is vibrant when the system of government rests on a solid foundation of traditions of governance. In America, these traditions involve the rule of law, separation of church and state, separation of powers, checks and balances, and a balance between people's personal freedoms and their civic responsibilities. It is true that a country like Iraq cannot be forced to become democratic. The reason, however, is not that the Iraqi people do not have a history of personal freedoms. Living under a dictator, the Iraqi people could not exercise their freedoms, but, more importantly, they were not able to learn the meaning of civic responsibility. Freedom is learned quickly, and, ever since March 2003, the Iraqi people have been exercising their democratic rights by protesting the U.S. occupation and even electing their own government representatives. Learning to exercise civic duties takes time, however, as does the shaping of Iraq's governance traditions like the rule of law, which does not have a historical precedent. The Iraqi government, even if elected by the people, does not yet rest on a solid foundation of governance traditions. I see the lack of governance traditions as the primary impediment to the progress and growth of Iraqi democracy, yet I am very cautiously optimistic that a democracy is feasible in Iraq.
Q: Do you believe the United States is taking the right tack on the war on terrorism? Is there anything more (or less) that we should be doing?
A: The United States emphasizes the military approach in seeking to defeat terrorism. No doubt, that is necessary to stop Islamist jihadis, who cannot be dissuaded from terrorism, before they do harm to innocent people. This involves preemptively killing terrorists, infiltrating terrorist cells, opening Islamic charities to greater financial scrutiny to identify those that channel funds to terrorist organizations and ensuring that mosques are not used for incitement to jihad. In order to effectively reduce the threat of terrorism, this "hard" approach must be complemented by a political strategy, aimed at moderate Muslims who reject terrorist violence. It falls onto their shoulders to identify those in their midst who tacitly sympathize with the jihadis and persuade or force them to stop supporting terrorism and to cooperate with authorities in stopping the terrorists, living alongside them. Since the London terrorist attacks, many moderate Muslims have said "not in our name." This is an extremely important gesture, but, unfortunately, it is not enough. Leaders of Western countries must encourage moderate Islamic leaders, politicians and ordinary Muslim citizens to use the aforementioned emerging anti-terrorist consensus, articulated in a high-level U.N. report, as a starting point for a robust campaign to strip terrorism of the legitimacy it continues to enjoy in parts of their communities and to shame and stop those who support or take part in terrorist violence.
Q: It has been suggested that educational exchange programs with countries in the Middle East should be curtailed in response to terrorist threats. Is that a good idea?
A: In short, this is a bad idea. One of the most potent forces in today's world is proliferation of information. Some of this information is accurate, yet, unfortunately, a lot of it is false. Thanks to the ubiquitous reach of the World Wide Web a lot of false information is available to people around the globe, including anti-American propaganda. Our students are this country's first line of defense against the growing tide of anti-Americanism, especially in the Middle East. U.S. students who study abroad exemplify to the world the best qualities of American character. In turn, foreign students coming to study in the U.S. show Americans what their countries are really like. I speak from a personal experience. My time as a student at Connecticut College was enriched enormously by the opportunity to interact, study and live alongside with students from all over the world. Thanks to the college's excellent international programs, I had the opportunity to spend a year abroad, studying at Oxford University... Now that I serve on Connecticut College's board of trustees, I am happy to see that the college works hard to recruit international students. For instance, 12 percent of the incoming freshman class of 2009 have an international background, representing 35 countries.