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March 30, 2005

Optimism in the Age of the Superpower: Ambassador Nancy Soderberg

"Pendulums swing back and forth, and extreme periods never survive," announced Nancy Soderberg, a self-proclaimed optimist on global politics at the March 29th Charles Francis Adams Lecture. A respected foreign policy expert, Soderberg referred to the first term of the current Bush Administration as a "ridiculous period of talking about 'freedom fries'" but appeared hopeful on shifts in policy.

A former US Ambassador to the United Nations and National Security Advisor to President Clinton, Soderberg has also served as foreign policy advisor to Senators Al Gore and Edward Kennedy, and she is currently Vice President of the International Crisis Group (ICG), an independent non-profit organization dedicated to conflict prevention and resolution. Speaking primarily in support of her new book, "The Superpower Myth: The Use and Misuse of American Might," Soderberg also came to Fletcher to discuss perceived changes in foreign policy since the book's publication, and on career paths for the eager students in the audience.

Acknowledging that the challenges facing American foreign policy are "very daunting," Soderberg nevertheless began her talk by criticizing the current administration's actions: "many of our policies are making us less and not more safe." Citing statistics on growing anti-Americanism in both Muslim countries and our supposed allies alike, she summarily deflated them: the US is perceived to be a threat to world peace; seven out of eight populations in Muslim countries believe the US might attack their country. "I don't believe [either] of these is true." The way to reenergize these nations, said Soderberg, is to make them see that we're acting in all of their interests - the only way for them to follow the US is if they don't feel threatened by it.

Under President Bush, said Soderberg, the US has exploited the potential threats to other countries, and abused the power it provided: "The administration of the first [Bush] term was blinded by the 'superpower myth,' that we can bend the world to our will, singlehandedly and primarily to our military might." Seeing a return to "tough engagement" as a more favorable strategy, Soderberg also pointed to Bush's fervent refusal to work with the UN or any other multilateral institution as the most damaging aspect of Bush's approach.

There are four areas where the current administration needs to shift its focus, said Soderberg, and if they do so they have the potential to be "historically successful." She cited these four fronts as Arab Reform, the Middle East Peace Process, the Challenges in the Developing World, and the Global Threat of Non-Proliferation and Terrorism.

"The Age of Terrorism puts demands on the Superpower. We need to get others to share the superpower burden with us. It's amazing how spiked the anti-Americanism is [now], but it can easily go the other way as well."

During the second half of her talk, Amb. Soderberg fielded questions from Fletcher and other Tufts students, some of who questioned her sanguinity in light of the current state of world affairs. On the recent nominations of John Bolton to her former post, as Ambassador to the United Nations, and Paul Wolfowitz, as President of the World Bank, Soderberg pointed out that having been on the inside, she is aware of the abilities of both men. Bolton's appointment "gets him out of Washington, out of the policy-making realm," she insisted, and Wolfowitz is more of a complicated internationalist than others understand.

In a query on career trajectories, Soderberg, a 1984 graduate of the Georgetown School of Foreign Service, related an anecdote of her own professional path, and how she got her first job in politics from a former professor, Madeleine Albright. "Your professors are more interesting than you think they are," she said to laughs from the audience. Fletcher is "like that concept of 'six degrees of separation,' but here it's only one degree," she added, and urged enthusiastic students to seek out internships and their professors' contacts.

MALD '05 student Anna Mecagni emerged from Soderberg's talk pleased and more than a bit surprised: "The thing that struck me the most is how positive she is. I would have expected someone being ‘in the system,’ and for so long, to be jaded or cynical. But she had such a positive spin on the system - it's a surprise, and one I really enjoyed."

Article by Stephanie Lindenbaum, MALD '05

Posted by jessica at March 30, 2005 01:19 PM