The Fletcher School returned to the United Kingdom’s capital for its sixth annual London Symposium on December 6. Hosted by Andrei Vandoros, F71, at The Hellenic Center, the Symposium featured a discussion between Fletcher Dean, Stephen W. Bosworth—former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea, The Philippines and Tunisia—and special guest Quentin Peel, longtime columnist and International Affairs Editor for theFinancial Times.
Asked to ponder the major issues, opportunities and obstacles facing the incoming Obama administration, the featured speakers figuratively toured a world now rife with economic turmoil, wars and ideological clashes. After initial dialogue that spanned the globe, Peel and Bosworth fielded questions from a worldly audience of nearly 80 Fletcher alumni and friends of the school.
Referring to the U.S. President-elect’s upcoming “to-do” list, Peel noted, “It’s a vast agenda,” but one that Obama and his new team will tackle with “limited resources.” Like many other pundits in the world affairs arena, Peel contended that Obama finds himself faced with having to live up to extraordinary expectations.
“Now, and in the first few months of his administration, the president’s role will be to manage those expectations,” he added.
Both Peel and Bosworth agreed that while significant challenges lie ahead—the growing tension in the south-central Asian trio of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, along with Iran, Iraq and the Israeli-Palestine conflict—there are a few diplomatic gestures that could show the world that an Obama-led United States is a nation with a renewed interest in engagement. Just 90 miles or so from Key West, Florida, Cuba may soon find a more tolerant U.S. administration willing to open lines of communication and ease decades-old tensions with the removal of travel restrictions.
As the speakers discussed recent events in Pakistan and India, Peel moved the focus to Russia, a topic he visits frequently in hisFinancial Times column, “Between The Lines.” He believes that the US must move away from a Cold War mentality, a departure from current policy he feels Obama is capable of and willing to implement. When asked about differing opinions on foreign policy between the President-elect and his selection for Secretary of State, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Peel noted that now more than ever “this is a time for the United States to listen, to engage. These places [India, Pakistan, China, Iran, etc.] matter. Go talk to people. The US must have a willingness to listen.”
An expert on the Korean Peninsula, Ambassador Bosworth was keen on discussing the current state of North Korea, a taciturn nation led by Kim Jong Il’s totalitarian regime, a government that has made little effort to display its leader since an alleged stroke apparently left him immobilized earlier in the year.
“North Korea may have already lost its leader,” mused Bosworth. “They are in the process of pulling ever inward, determining what to do next.” Even the slightest possibility of an eventual reunified Korea, however, has its neighbors none too happy. Although families would be reunited after decades of forced separation, a depleted, poverty-stricken and brainwashed nation of nearly 40 million would find itself in stark contrast to its neighbors that have increased their standard of living since North Korea’s rapid decline during the past two decades.
Sharing a border with North Korea, China will surely rise high on the foreign policy agenda for Obama. Mixing a fast growing economy with a communist-ruled government, along with well-publicized abuses of human rights, Bosworth noted, “China is the most difficult challenge to foreign policy ever in U.S. history. [China] has a deep fear of a disintegration of itself.” Bosworth and Peel tipped their hats to the Bush Administration for its stance and engagement with China and agreed that a balanced formula of pressure on human rights and cooperation on shared interests throughout the world will be the best approach during Obama’s tenure.
As the event drew to a close, all in attendance could extract a common theme: engagement. As Barack Obama prepares to take the helm of the world’s most powerful nation—under economic stress unseen in 80 years—he’ll have to contend with issues on many global fronts. However, the world awaits a renewed United States—one determined to seek solutions with its allies and re-establish ties with countries soured by questionable international policies of the past eight years.
In closing, Peel echoed a sentiment heard throughout the world lately: “We want you back, again! America is crucial to problem-solving on a global scale.”