A New Tone Towards Europe and the World

As President Obama is reaching the midway point of his European tour, it has become clear that Mr. Obama and his administration are using a completely different tone when speaking to Europeans and the rest of the world.  I have been watching international news coverage of President Obama’s speeches and press conferences, and I watched him hold a town hall meeting in Strasbourg, France this morning.  From a New York Times article, titled, “Obama Sets a New Tone for Alliance With Europe”:

“On the eve of a NATO summit meeting here [in Strasbourg], President Obama offered a compact for a renewed partnership with Europe, saying ‘America is changing but it cannot be America alone that changes’…Hundreds of people, many of them students from France and Germany, applauded him loudly as he spoke in a sports hall, particularly when he evoked efforts to reduce nuclear stockpiles and close the Guantánamo Bay detention center. He also drew enthusiastic cheers when he insisted: ‘The United States does not, and will not, torture.’”

I have noticed that in all his speeches over the last several days, President Obama has emphasized that the U.S. wants to listen and have a respectful dialogue with Europe and the rest of the world.  Mr. Obama has even admitted U.S. mistakes concerning the global economic crisis and has implied that the U.S. will no longer dictate terms to Europe.  He spoke candidly at the town hall meeting about U.S.-Europe relations in the past: 

“[President Obama] urged a shift in attitudes. In America, he said, there had been ‘a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world,’ and there had been ‘times when America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive,’ Mr. Obama said…But in Europe, he went on, there had also been anti-American attitudes. ‘On both sides of the Atlantic, these attitudes have become all too common,’ President Obama said. ‘They are not wise.’”

The language and tone being used by President Obama would have been unthinkable during the Bush administration.  Pledging to listen and engage in dialogue are hallmarks of effective public diplomacy, as is reaching out to foreign publics, such as today’s town hall meeting in Strasbourg.  This could be a boon to U.S. public diplomacy and lead towards less anti-Americanism in Europe.

What remains to be seen is if President Obama’s tone is followed by the actual implementation of policies and if Europe is willing to reciprocate regarding a variety of issues facing the U.S. and Europe.

Leitmotif : Accessible Foreign Policy for Everybody

While researching on Germany’s international broadcasting Deutsche Welle I came across this interesting Web site called Atlantic Community. It is conducted by Atlantic Initiative - a non-profit organization based in Berlin, Germany, that aims at promoting the transatlantic cooperation and strengthening the German foreign policy culture.

The Atlantic Community is an open think tank where members (you have to sign up, but it is free) can discuss and debate on recent policy issues. The founders of the project “recognized the need for a new English-language venture that would strengthen European-American ties and thus reinforce the idea that today’s transatlantic agenda is global.”

In detail the goals of Atlantic Initiative are:

• Spread the message that today's transatlantic agenda is global: International challenges like terrorism, the energy crisis, and the rise of new powers in Asia demand a unified Western policy.
• Promote frank debates and collaboration between Europe and North America on issues of globalization and foreign policy.
• Cultivate and improve intellectual exchange across the Atlantic through increased networking opportunities between decision-makers, senior experts, as well as a new generation of students and future policy professionals.
• Promote and advance the future generation of decision-makers.
• Analyze foreign policy and the challenges of the twenty-first century in such a way that everybody can understand them. Our leitmotif is: Accessible Foreign Policy for Everybody!
  (source: http://www.atlantic-initiative.org)
  

The issues dealt with are in direct relation to our course discussions and the contributing authors include Rüdiger Lentz, the head of the Deutsche Welle Washington office (he is also the head of the Atlantic Initiative in the US) and scholars who research in the field of transatlantic relations.

What I liked about the Web site is the approach to open the discussion to a wider public and make the issue of foreign policy accessible to those who are not as much engaged on a regular basis, but have their own visions and opinions.

The fact that such an online portal enters the foreign policy discussion is also characteristic for the current stage of public diplomacy. As discussed in class and described in the Gilboa reading "Searching for a Theory of Public Diplomacy," more and more new players engage in international affairs, investigate PD activities and become active themselves.

The Next Step

In my blog post A new Era of Transatlantic Relations? two weeks ago, I focused on how President Obama’s election raises hope for an improved transatlantic cooperation. However, I concluded, that there are more steps to follow in order to have a continuous impact.

At the security forum in Munich, Germany last week, we saw one next step in this direction. As already mentioned in YuanYuan’s post We will engage. We will listen. We will consult. "--Joe Biden, Vice President Joe Biden not only attended the conference in Munich on behalf of the new U.S. Administration, he also gave a keynote speech, emphasizing the new perspectives of the U.S. public diplomacy, the ways to improve relations between NATO and Russia, nuclear proliferation, and the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea.

I think it was crucial for Biden to attend the Munich conference for three core reasons: First, Biden’s appearance at the conference is a visible effort by the U.S. administration to show engagement and the will to change transatlantic relations. Second, Biden was able to address the new U.S. foreign policy direction in his speech, thereby signaling that the lack of cooperation, which has been vividly criticized by Europeans in the last years, will have an end.

And third, the fact that key politicians with a high interest in learning about the new directions of U.S. foreign policy were among the 300 guests of the conference provided an opportunity for a dialogue and therefore also underscores the importance of Biden’s appearance and speech. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, and NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheff all came to Munich. Eventually, it is a dialogue and a cooperation that has to be aimed at when it comes to transatlantic relations.

A New Era of Transatlantic Relations?

Barack Obama speaking in Berlin, Germany (7/24/08)

President Obama’s inauguration on January 20 has been well received in many European countries – including Germany. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, the image of the U.S. among the European public has suffered. A survey on transatlantic trends conducted by the German Marshall Fund shows that the number of Europeans viewing the U.S. as a desirable global leader dropped from 64 percent in 2002 to 36 percent in 2008.

The wide-spread popularity of President Obama in European countries literally raises hope of an improved transatlantic cooperation. John K. Glenn, director of foreign policy at the German Marshall Fund, sees potential in President Obama. However, he points out that electing Obama as the 44th President of the U.S. does not immediately reverse the U.S. image and improve the transatlantic relations.

In his POLITICO article “Obama to Europe: Ich bin ein listener,” Glenn underscores the need of Obama to listen to European allies and reshape the public opinion of Americans as a country not seeing Europeans as essential partners.

According to Glenn, one of the main reasons for the negative public opinion among Europeans was caused by a lack of cooperation with European countries in terms of dealing with terrorism. It is therefore not surprising that Angela Merkel attached the claim for better cooperation and communication between Europeans and Americans to her congratulating message for President Obama, stating that “no single country can solve the problems of the world.”

From my perspective as a European native, Obama’s election can be seen as the first step to improve transatlantic relations. Yet, there have to be more to follow. Appointing the two renowned foreign policy experts George Mitchell and Richard Holbrook to special envoys has definitely been another step in the right direction, underscoring Obama’s intention to find a new strategy when dealing with the Middle East and Afghanistan and Pakistan.

As John K. Glenn states: “Obama’s great promise is that he has the potential to make collaboration with the United States not just politically possible but politically desirable.”