With much of the world drawn to China’s model of state capitalism, and even emerging democracies like Brazil and India evincing a neo-Westphalian focus on national sovereignty and non-interference, rather than embracing a rules-based international order, Europe must be able to assert its influence and values. And that requires military power. Europeans may be “postmodern,” but the rest of the world is not. Across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, national leaders are either military officers or preoccupied with military matters. They want arms, training, advice, and intelligence, as well as reassurance that their partners understand military affairs and can demonstrate military capabilities. Europe’s leaders do not need to resort to gunboat diplomacy to resolve every political dispute, but they do need to understand how armed forces work as instruments of statecraft. Europe needs a new strategy. Its leaders must reevaluate how the world is changing and develop new principles and doctrines to guide its foreign and defense policies. And Europe must shed its illusions about the impact of soft power and the willingness of emerging powers to be house-trained as “responsible stakeholders” in a Western-designed international system.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Jun 2014 19:07:48 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015