Opinion Archive

Agustin Barrios Gomez, president of SolutionsAbroad.com, has been commissioned by the newly-relaunched English-language daily The News (www.thenews.com.mx) to produce a weekly opinion column on Mexican current affairs. The column is published every Wednesday in the paper and also here online. Our president is a member of the Mexican Council on Foreign Affairs and is an analyst of politics in North America with a degree in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.  

What to Make of an American Honest Broker

January 16, 2008

The past week has seen President Bush taking a stab at peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Despite a general consensus on behalf of world public opinion that he is too supportive of Israel, his interest in his legacy and the obvious benefits of a settlement for the “War on Terror”, suggest that he is sincere in his efforts. Putting aside predictions regarding the possible success, or failure, of the venture, Mr. Bush seems to be adopting that most noble role in international affairs: the honest broker.

Why should I?

The role of honest broker is essential to effective leadership - and leadership is in the self-interest of the dominant power. When a superpower takes the stage, by definition the status quo is in its best interest. Simply put, it has the most to lose.

In that sense, perhaps the greatest benefit of the rise of China is that this behemoth is now a stakeholder. The US can now invite China to join it as an honest broker on the world stage, but it can only do so if it is seen as being a true proponent of the general welfare. In the few instances when it projects this image, the US can be very effective, like when it convinces the Chinese that a nuclear North Korea is a threat to everyone, not just America and its allies.

Gentrification as foreign policy

Honest brokerage can lead to a win-win development policy, as in the great peace-and-prosperity-making machine that is the European Union. Recognizing this, when President Bush met with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Washington last week, he enthusiastically endorsed Turkey’s application for membership in the EU.

Nevertheless, the US government’s role regarding this historically imperative project is not seen as that of an honest broker, in large part because of the way it treats Mexico. As German Chancellor Angela Merkel noted when she was first confronted with President Bush’s opinions on Turkey and the EU: Europe will invite Turkey as a full Union member when the US invites Mexico as the 51st American state. The implication is that the US has no moral authority to ask the EU to be hospitable to Turkey at the same time as it is walling itself off from its own large, strategically important, poor neighbor. In pushing for its key Middle Eastern ally to be Europe’s development problem, the US is not acting as honest broker, so it is not taken seriously.

Though Merkel was obviously being facetious, there is an argument to be made for “enlightened self interest” on behalf of the US, vis-à-vis Mexico. Just as Eurasia needs an example of a stable Islamic democracy that is rewarded for playing by the rules, so Latin America needs a success story of a free-market democracy that benefits from being an ally and partner to the US. This is not to say that North America is ready for EU-style integration, but by making symbolic financial guarantees and creating a “road map” for Mexico’s development, a Latin American poster child of Mexico’s size could effectively silence the Chavezes of the region.

Noblesse oblige

There are signs that other countries are willing to do their bit. Australia has taken on extensive peace-keeping responsibilities in the South Pacific, for example; the US and Europe avoided a bloodbath in the former Yugoslavia, and South Africa seems to be taking on a positive role in sub-Saharan Africa (despite its leader’s silly fetish for Zimbabwe’s tinpot dictator, Robert Mugabe). Nevertheless, only US leadership can create a global virtuous circle of honest brokerage, just as it was the force behind the United Nations, the IMF and World Bank.

Despite millions of generous people in every country, who make daily sacrifices for the greater good, the world stage is usually a showcase of selfishness. Pettiness is the norm in international relations, which is why the honest broker role is often so effective.

Of course, one does not need to be a global do-gooder to be an effective honest broker. One just has to be congruent and to communicate a sincere desire to see both sides benefit. 30 years ago, despite the fact that both sides had issues with the Americans, President Jimmy Carter’s earnest Georgia smile did the trick for Egypt and Israel where Kissinger’ Realpolitik and “shuttle diplomacy” faltered.

Today, President Bush has allowed many honest brokerage opportunities to pass him by, with global warming being perhaps the most scandalous. But if he and his successor take to this the honest broker role earnestly, the result might be what every beauty pageant contestant aspires to, but so many world politicians foolishly dismiss: world peace.

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