2009 Conference Articles
The articles below provide information and background on the subject of the 2009 Camden Conference.
Leadership and Legitimacy
“Obama on foreign affairs: He must rebuild old alliances and forge new ones, bringing the U.S. in step with a multipolar world.”, Los Angeles Times, January 17, 2009. Editorial
The Bush administration’s hubris and relentless disregard for our allies abroad shredded the fabric of multilateralism; it falls to President Obama to stitch it together again. The Bush years, defined by ultimatums and unilateral actions around the world, must be brought to a swift close with a renewed emphasis on diplomacy, consultation and the forging of broad international coalitions.
Obama’s Yoda
The Force is with Obama’s Yoda, TIME, December 31, 2008
Eight years ago, at the brackish dawn of the second Bush era, TIME offered a list of potential national-security wise men. One was Brent Scowcroft. “Yoda of Dad’s foreign policy team, will consult unseen in son’s White House,” we predicted, inaccurately. Instead, Scowcroft proved a demure scold. He opposed the Iraq invasion, publicly, in the Wall Street Journal. He scorned the neoconservatives and hard-power nationalists who controlled George W. Bush’s foreign policy. In return, Scowcroft’s brand of low-key “realism” was derided as milquetoasty by the neocons. The nickname stuck, however, among his associates at the Scowcroft Group: Yoda, he was. A fount of common sense, he remains. And so a not-so-bold prediction: “Yoda of Bush the Elder’s foreign policy team will consult unseen in Barack Obama’s White House.”
Photo-illustration by Stephen Kroninger for TIME; Obama: AP; Scowcroft: Hyungwon Kang — Reuters
Envoys For Change
How Will Obama Choose His Diplomats? By Morton Abramowitz
The Washington Post Tuesday, December 16, 2008, PageA19
President-elect Barack Obama has repeatedly stated his intention to change the culture of Washington. He promises to drive the money changers (the lobbyists) from the temple, to reduce the partisanship and to appoint people who can actually do the job — not just his political supporters. This will require enormous sustained effort while he faces major domestic and international obstacles.
New Thinking
Only new thinking will save the global economy
By Mohamed El-Erian, December 3, 2008, The Financial Times Limited
History books will document that the global economy experienced a sudden stop after September 15. In accentuating long-standing structural weaknesses, the manner in which Lehman Brothers failed disrupted the trust that underpins the smooth functioning of market economies. As a result, virtually every indicator of economic and financial relationships exhibits characteristics of cardiac arrest.
The situation will get worse before it gets better and it will only get better if there is a shift in thinking in both the private and public sectors: away from comforting yet unrealistic notions of a return to “business as usual” and towards the more nasty reality of a volatile journey to a different destination. The implications are far-reaching as they speak to more market accidents, disorderly sectoral realignments and additional shifts in policy.
Middle East Priorities
Middle East Priorities For Jan. 21st, by Brent Scowcroft and Zbigniew Brzezinski
Washington Post; Friday, November 21, 2008; A23
The election of Barack Obama to be the 44th president is profoundly historic. We have at long last been able to come together in a way that has eluded us in the long history of our great country. We should celebrate this triumph of the true spirit of America.
Election Day celebrations were replicated in time zones around the world, something we have not seen in a long time. While euphoria is ephemeral, we must endeavor to use its energy to bring us all together as Americans to cope with the urgent problems that beset us.
When Obama takes office in two months, he will find a number of difficult foreign policy issues competing for his attention, each with strong advocates among his advisers. We believe that the Arab-Israeli peace process is one issue that requires priority attention.
A Global Grand Bargain
A Global Grand Bargain by Robert Hutchings
Monday, November 17, 2008; Washington Post, page A19
The world is on the cusp of the most profound shift in global power and influence in a century. Managing this quiet revolution calls for nothing short of a new international system, with a radical revision of existing institutions and patterns of doing business. It is a time for thinking big.
2009: Global Leadership and the U.S. Role in World Affairs
