FOREWORD

By Richard Feinberg and Raymond Clark

The breadth of issues and concerns that a sovereign nation addresses as part of its national security strategy speak volumes about both the domestic and foreign policy forces at play.  The United States is not unique in adopting an expansive view of what constitutes national security, explicitly including not only military concerns, but also political, economic, scientific, and technological developments that pose actual or potential threats to U.S. national interests.  To undertake a course of study of a nations’ national security policies and procedures can serve as a valuable mechanism for gaining insight into the politics and culture of that society. Such a course of study can also provide practical insights into the do’s and don’t of designing comprehensive national security policies and effective decision-making procedures and systems for developing countries.

In late 2005, the seven authors of this book, along with eleven others, were selected by the U.S. Department of State to participate in a program to study U.S. national security.  The Study of the U.S. Institute on U.S. National Security is a long-standing exchange program sponsored by the State Department’s Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs, and the University of California’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) was honored by being selected to host both the program and a remarkable group of foreign policy scholars and practitioners.  The Fellows spent six weeks on the campus of the University of California, San Diego, interacting with senior U.S. experts on a wide variety of topics, including global matters such as nuclear non-proliferation and international terrorism, regional security issues in East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, and domestic political, economic and social issues of immediate concern in the United States. In addition, the Fellows were privileged to spend a week in Washington, DC, where they visited with officials in the various agencies of the executive branch, the U.S. Congress and experts in public policy institutes. The program provided the Fellows with an opportunity to study and understand the U.S. national security policy apparatus in detail, and to gain a deeper appreciation for the depth and breadth of U.S. national security concerns.  But the program aimed to do more than this: the overarching goal was to provide a mechanism for foreign scholars to understand the domestic forces and national ideas and values that shape and drive U.S. national security policy.  As Radoi and Rofe point out in their introduction, this is not an easy proposition: it is inherently challenging for a foreign national to step outside of their national boundaries and fully comprehend what underlies the national security concerns of another nation. 

The individual and collective experiences of the program Fellows resulted in a desire to express more than just appreciation for the knowledge gained and experiences enjoyed.  In undertaking to prepare this volume, the Fellows set out, in effect, turn the programs’ overarching goal on its head: to share with readers how informed foreigners, who have had the special experience of studying in the United States and observing the decision making process first-hand in Washington, D.C.,  perceive U.S. national security policies and practices.  The outcome of this creative exercise is this remarkable volume of essays.

In each chapter of this handsome volume, the seven stimulating contributions express the personal opinions of each author, while inevitably also reflecting currents of informed opinion from their country and region, as no scholar is fully free from their own social context and national debates.  Their fascination, therefore, derives from this combination of personal insights and of perspectives that reflect wider currents from around the world with regard to current US diplomacy - opinions which at this moment are deeply divided on critical issues of international relations.  This volume proudly offers a widely diverse range of views – from Western and Eastern Europe, North and South America, and South Asia - on contemporary US foreign policy and its impact on individual nations and regions and on world affairs. 

The chapters by Mireille Radoi and Vera Rihackova, on the foreign policies of Central and Eastern Europe, and more specifically Romania and the Czech Republic, are expressive of the very positive history between their countries and the United States during the 1990s, when the US was broadly seen as playing an important, constructive role in their nations’ successful transformations toward independent, democratic republics and market-oriented, dynamic economies. Rihackova emphasizes the close emotional ties of many of the region’s political leaders and intellectuals with the United States during that decade, while Radoi describes the rich and deep bilateral relationship with the Czech Republic which not only assisted in the transition but also helped to prepare the nation for NATO membership and for accession to the European Union.  More recently, the international relations of Central and Eastern Europe may be taking on less emotive and more balanced, pragmatic tones, but relations with the United States remain healthy.  Radoi urges Europe to eschew efforts to develop the EU into a counterweight to the US, for such a policy could divide and weaken Europe. Rihackova foresees possibilities for improved cooperation between the “old” and “new” Europe, and perhaps even stronger trans-Atlantic partnerships in the future.

The contribution by Dragan Zivojinovic, from Serbia, is eloquent in its evaluation of the evolution and contributions of the U.S. National Security Council.  The NSC is that organ of government, at the service of the President, whose function it is to formulate consensus policies among the various agencies in the executive branch, taking into account the views of the Congress as well as the broader body politic.  At times, the NSC also provides leadership and proposes creative initiatives for the President.  Zivojinovic is effusive in his praise for the positive role that the NSC has played in the formations of US foreign policy: “Being one of the most successful personifications of the idea that knowledge and wisdom can rule the world.”

In contrast, the essays by Erica Almeida Resende of Brazil and John Simon of the United Kingdom take on a much more critical tone. Resende argues with vigor that policies of the Bush administration that seek US hegemony and the right of pre-emptive strike violate previous US policies of international law, multilateralism and consensual rule-making, and, rare for an established great power, depart from the conservative status quo to attempt to transform the world system and the internal politics of its member states. “The United States expects world powers to accept their own irrelevance and to know tow to them,” she decries.  Resende doubts that such US policies will succeed, rather the US “is shooting itself in the foot.” John Simon notes that the US declares that “it is at war,” but finds this expression only in select portions of the executive bureaucracy, such that the expression is misplaced.  He warns that any efforts, or even the appearance of such efforts, will backfire and will make the US less secure.  Resende quotes the Brazilian foreign minister in support of her views.  While Simon does not necessarily reflect the views of the current British government, he does express views that are widely held in the UK and throughout Western Europe.

In this volume, policies of two leading middle powers are described by Mario Arroyo Juarez of Mexico and Swati Parashar of India.  The authors are neither pro- nor anti-current American foreign policy.  They share many of the same concerns as US policymakers, and welcome an active US policy toward their country and region.  But they are concerned that the level of attention, certain particular US attitudes, and perhaps strategic misperceptions are hindering the proper development of bilateral and regional ties.  For Arroyo, the US correctly perceives the seriousness of the terrorist threat – more so than does Mexico – but the US still needs to adopt a more comprehensive approach to build on the NAFTA relationship and to better integrate its southern neighbor into its national security strategy.  Arroyo warns against using Mexico as a scapegoat for various national ills, as the US has done too often in the past, rather the US should help Mexico modernize its security institutions. Similarly, Parashar welcomes a US presence in South Asia, and particularly its soft power potential which can be beneficial to sustaining a benevolent primacy.  In this regard, the US should expand governmental and private-sector ties with South Asia.  However, the US should avoid playing geo-political games that try to play one South Asian state off against another, seeking instead a “broad, balanced, and integrated strategy toward South Asia that is sustainable over a long term.”  At the same time, states in the region should stop viewing their ties with the US as leverage against their regional rivals. 

Throughout the volume, authors’ views reflect their years of scholarship and experience, as well as their participation in the National Security Fellows Program and their studies at UCSD and their interviews and meetings in Washington, DC.  A common finding and concern is that Washington’s focus on the Middle East is distracting attention from other regions, not only from Latin America where regional specialists have long expressed frustration at the sporadic and short attention span of US policy makers, but also from Europe, a region that expects steady attention from senior US policymakers.  Some authors came away from the program with a much deeper appreciation for the complexity of the US decision-making process, for the large number of institutions and players involved and the many issues under consideration at any one moment in history.  Thus, when the President proclaims that the country “is at war,” even if that is his sincere view, many segments of the bureaucracy may be carrying on in ways not fully congruent with that worldview.

Taken together, these seven essays present the reader with a fascinating series of “takes,” from talented and serious observers, on current US foreign policy, in its global expression and regional implementation.  What emerges is not one, single interpretation, but rather a healthy diversity of assessments of US diplomacy, ranging from generally positive, to on balance constructive if in need of some adjustment, to negative and even potentially dangerously destructive to international relations.  For some contributors, the United States is a constructive, essential force for world peace and prosperity, for others the United States is destabilizing and US policy is badly in need of revision.  This is a very wholesome debate at a critical time – precisely the type of open, democratic discourse, informed by knowledge of history and an awareness of present policies, which the National Security Fellows’ program aspires to foster.

Richard Feinberg is professor of international political economic at the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, University of California, San Diego.  Raymond Clark is a Research Fellow and Program Manager at the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation