COMMENT & ANALYSIS: "Imperial sunset? America the all-powerful finds its hands tied by new rivals," by Daniel Dombey, Financial Times, 13 February 2007, p. 11.
The hand-wringing on the 23 months left to this premature post-presidency is getting somewhat absurd, but such are the second Bush administration's failings that the annual Munich conference on security feels like a wake for the sole military superpower.
Putin's outburst was just fine. We deserve a slap across the face like that every once in a while. Feedback is feedback, telling more about the sender than the target--as in, this is how years of unilateralism is wearing on people and making them feel.
But here, to me, is the obvious out to the fear suggested by the article's title. Naturally, it comes from a Chinese participant:
"Right now, China is multilateralist because it is weaker than the US ... but no one can stop China," says Shen Dingli, a professor at Shanghai's Fudan University. "The US should be sophisticated enough to use international institutions so that when China becomes a superpower it too is educated to act that way."
Out of the mouths of rising powers...
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Former UK foreign secretary, Lord Hurd, advocates an especially wary national foreign policy because of the rapidly changing balance of power in the world. The writer sums up: "The dilemma for the US and the world is that the prospects for multilateralism - for diplomacy - are distinctly unpromising."
It looks as though competitive states are unlikely to declare 'connectivity' the aim of their national foreign policies, if left to their devices. For example, the Munich security conference recently showed the displeasure of the Russian President at the lack of connectivity - the possibility of US missile systems being placed in EU countries and targeted at Russia.
Posted by IJ | February 20, 2007 4:37 AM