“I would dedicate this nation to the policy of the good neighbour-the neighbour who resolutely respects himself and, because he does so, respects the rights of others”
(Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933).
When Franklin D. Roosevelt commanded the US administration in 1933, he brought a new approach to United States foreign policy. This policy was called the Good Neighbour Policy.
The Good Neighbour Policy was straight forward and easy to comprehend. In the book “The Good Neighbour Policy-A history to Make us Proud” by Tom Barry et.al, the authors described the policy . by emphasizing the 7 main principles, one may conclude how far governments of the world today have neglected those noble principles. The following principles are reflective of what the American government wanted to achieve.
Principle One: the first step towards being a good neighbour is to stop bening a bad neighbour.
Principle Two: Our nation’s foreign policy agenda must be tied to broad US interests. To be effective and win public support, a new foreign policy agenda must work in tandem with domestic policy reforms to improve security, quality of life, and basic rights in our own country.
Principle Three: given that our national interests, security, and social well-being are interconnected to those of other peoples, U.S foreign policy must be based on reciprocity rather than domination, mutual well-being rather than cutthroat competition, and cooperation rather than confrontation.
Principle Four: As the world’s foremost power, the United States will be best served by exercising responsible global leadership and partnership rather than seeking global dominance.
Principle Five: An effective security policy must be two-pronged. Genuine national safety requires both a well-prepared military capable of repealing attacks on our country and a proactive commitment to improving national and personal security through nonmilitary measures and international cooperation.
Principle Six: The U.S government should support sustainable development, first at home and then abroad, through its macroeconomic trade, investment and aid policies.
Principle Seven: A peaceful and prosperous global neighborhood depends on effective governance at national, regional, and international levels. Effective governance is accountable, transparent, and representative.
All the foregoing principles address the primary area of International Relations lacking in today’s international relations scene. To revive such principles would be noble indeed. I think that if Obama wished to revive the image of the United States and reposition it strategically on the global scene, to go from being ‘a bad neighbour’ to a better one, then the ideas stipulated by Roosevelt would be a worthwhile reference.
Traditionally, The Democratic party usually opposes the doctrine of unilateralism. They favour diplomacy over military action. They believe the United States should act in the international arena in concert with strong alliances and broad international support. Obama’s recent interview with the Arabic-language news channel Al-Arabiya addressing the Muslim world, stressed the need for a respectful dialogue. Does this indicate that the U.S is willing to listen first instead of hearing what they want to hear and subsequently acting irrationally?.
Conversely, the Republican foreign policy is one corrupted by the arrogant belief of U.S supremacy. The Republicans assert that what the world needs for peace and stability is an arbiter with overwhelming military power and the necessary political will to enforce order. This policy was clearly manifested in the Project of the New American Century under the Bush administration. The plan stipulated that the United States should use its supreme military power in service of its “moral clarity”. The notion of “international cooperation and mutual respect being the best ways to guarantee a safe and healthy global neighborhood” was considered tantamount to an appeasement which would endanger the U.S. As such, U.S has the moral responsibility to maintain global order by confronting challenges through the use of overwhelming force.
From the first day of George Walker Bush’s administration, talk in Washington significantly shifted away from ‘international cooperation’, constructive engagement’, and ‘international community’ preferring instead ‘regime change’, ‘preventive war’, ‘coalition of the willing’, and ‘American supremacy’. International treaties, norms, conventions were all rejected, violated, and dismissed because they purportedly undermined U.S power and failed America’s mission.
Under Bush’s administration, the United States was far from the Good Neighbour principles which guided the formation of the United Nations and other bodies. The abuses in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo bay – all justified in the name of the ‘global war on terror’-have damaged America’s legacy for respect and promotion of international law as the rule of conduct among civilized peoples. This recent record has diminished its moral authority and has decreased its ability to influence other nations to adopt peaceful and cooperative measures.
Today, with the presidency belonging to the Democrats, Obama seems to be trying his best to re-chart the U.S foreign policy towards a gentler power and public diplomacy. With regard to U.S relations with the Muslim world, in his presidential campaign speech he made known his desire to improve America’s relations with the Muslim world. Will his diplomacy resemble and bear the noble elements of the Good Neighbour Policy?
Perhaps by observing his presidential pledge and his 100 day’s in office, one may be able to make an educated conclusion. For the time being mush needs to be done.
The international community is hoping that Obama can pave way for changes for the better not only with regard to U.S administration, but also in the realm of international relations. The unilateralist presidents before him harmed the good image of the U.S overseas and have severely compromised its so called moral authority. The result has been the weakening of U.S global governance. If Obama wished to reposition the U.S in terms of international relations, he must revive the spirit of multilateralism and diplomacy.
Obama must take the lead to reform institutions of global governance, be they government organizations or non-government organizations. All these institutions must be oriented towards sustainable development goals and must be made more transparent and representative of the entire global neighbourhood.