Haass calls for "World Order 2.0"

Republican foreign policy veteran and editor of Foreign Affairs Richard N. Haass, in an article distilled from his latest book, promoted the concept of "sovereign obligation" posted on the Foreign Affairs site yesterday.

In a nutshell, "sovereign obligation" is the responsibilities nations have to one another in an era that finds the globe shrinking. From cyberspace and world trade to the prevention of pandemics and dealing with climate change, sovereign nations need to understand their obligations to one another to help resolve issues that are no respecters of national borders.

As Haass puts it:

Little now stays local; just about anyone and anything, from tourists, terrorists, and refugees to e-mails, diseases, dollars, and greenhouse gases, can reach almost anywhere. The result is that what goes on inside a country can no longer be considered the concern of that country alone. Today’s circumstances call for an updated operating system—call it World Order 2.0—that includes not only the rights of sovereign states but also those states’ obligations to others. 

Haass is no pie-in-the-sky idealist. He says that a world order based on sovereign obligation will only come about incrementally after much "time, talk, and effort."

Nor does Haass commend the diminution of American national sovereignty. It builds on this concept that's been central to international relations since the seventeenth century. As he explains:

...sovereign obligation is about what a country owes to other countries. It stems from a need to expand and adapt the traditional principles of international order for a highly interconnected world.

What I appreciate about the article is that Haass is here wrestling to identify an overarching strategy for international relations (and US foreign policy), moving away from what today seems like a series of seemingly disconnected episodes that only heighten international tensions and fail to address the downside of the increased interaction of the whole world.

Sovereign obligation isn't, as Haass points out, unknown in the world today. He identifies international efforts on health issues as one area where this principle is gaining traction. He sees the need to thwart nuclear proliferation as an area that urgently cries out for implementing sovereign obligation as a norm among the largely fictional "community of nations."

Read the whole thing. (Subscription necessary.)

[Blogger Mark Daniels is pastor of Living Water Lutheran Church in Centerville, Ohio.]

Varied opinions in Europe...

on President Obama's decision against a land-based missile defense shield there. Western Europe finds the decision "reasoned." Eastern Europe deems it "naive."

Are the US and China Headed for Eventual War?

That would be insane!

But, I agree with Niall Ferguson that the two countries are, inevitably, headed for a divorce, the end of what he once called "Chimerica."

Having said that, China's government clearly seems to be moving toward what Ferguson calls "empire building," which could be detrimental to regional stability, the environment, and US interests.

For the future, the US government needs, among other things, to:

• Decrease its debt to China.
• Deepen or form strategic partnerships with Asian nations as a means buffering China's hegemonic designs in Asia.
• Wean itself off of oil, for which China is likely to become an increasingly aggressive competitor.
• Encourage Americans to save more and mortgage less of their financial well-being to the Chinese.

Parallels Between Tehran 1979 and Tehran 2009?

I briefly address that here.

So, Where Exactly is Yemen?

We read or hear the names of a plethora of countries every day. But I have to confess that as closely as I try to follow world news and foreign affairs, I can't always identify the locations of some countries.

In this era of globalization and of the projection of US power and influence, it seems sort of important for we Americans to be more aware of the world around us. After all, people in Yemen, Bahrain, and other places can't avoid us or the influence of our culture.

Today, the Middle East Strategy at Harvard blog linked to several geography quiz sites. They can be a little discouraging, but educational and fun.

Geography-Maps-Games.com has all sorts of quizzes, testing both national and international geographic knowledge.

Rethinking Schools Online has a map of north Africa and the Middle East to which you have to drag the country names.

Have fun!