The White House - too much influence for Neo Cons ?
The White House - too much influence for Neo Cons ?
In some areas of our globe, the title "neocon" has
become a synonym for one-dimensional imperial
thinking and policy. "Arrogance of power" became an
often-used label. These neocons have a lot of power
and influence in the administration of George W.
Bush. Therefore, it is interesting to take a closer
look at these protagonists of a hegemonic policy of
the world's sole superpower, the United States.
These people believe that the superpower US has the
right and the obligation to design and build a new
world order following American standards and values.
"Democratisation" has become a key word.
The question is whether or not democracy can and
should be exported to each and every country in the
world regardless of its respective history, culture,
religion, traditions and perceptions of the "target
society."
Is it possible to impose democracy from the outside?
Would it be better and more prudent to implant the
idea of participation and democracy as a virus into
the hearts and minds of the people and let it grow
and spread? Free media and the Internet without
territorial borders could be a tool for an
orchestrated public diplomacy to promote the idea of
participation and democracy.
Is democracy the starting point or the desired end
state? Are early elections desirable or do they
give democratic legitimacy to former non-democratic
strong players? Or is it necessary to first develop a
desire for participation and democracy? For example:
German reunification was not initiated from the
outside world. We are the people was the cry for
more freedom, participation and democracy - a desire
that had become stronger and stronger over months and
years.
The ideas of the neocons gained in power and
influence when the US became the sole superpower in a
unipolar world. There was no longer a political
heavyweight to counterbalance the one imperial
empire. The temptation grew to prefer unilateral,
national actions to multilateral ones, or to form a
coalition of the willing in order to avoid long and
fruitless discussions and consultations with
unwilling partners as in NATO.
More than Afghanistan, Iraq became the test bed for
these ideas. There is already one important lesson to
be learned: As the sole superpower, the US has proven
to be able to win a hot war based on military
supremacy but face huge problems in the long lasting
process of post-conflict-operations.
There is a second development: The unipolar world
might be a temporary status. States like China, India
and less probably a stronger Europe will
challenge the status of the US. No one is able to
tell when this status might change but it will at
the end of the day.
Thus, it is interesting to ponder the future of
neocons in the US. To understand their future, we
have to understand the history and present-day status
of neo-conservatism. This is exactly the purpose of
our newsletter written by the American academic
Norman Levine. He goes back to the roots of this
movement. He describes the power and the influence of
neocons in US policy. Think tanks and well organized
media transport their ideas to the public throughout
the world. He asks for the future of those ideas.
The worldwide feedback seems to be counterproductive
for the image of the US. Conservatism is not a bad
idea. In a good sense, conservative people want to
safeguard values and standards for the future.
If we had more participation and democracy in the
world, it would be a safer and better place. The
fundamental question is how to get there. It takes
time to awaken the desire for participation and
democracy. Information and communication can be
helpful. There is the need to educate and form a new
political class that can take over responsibility
and accountability in due course. Democracy belongs
to the people.
We must learn to accept that a new democracy might
choose a different way its own way. These new
democracies will bring more stability than those
authoritarian leaders and regimes we needed as allies
and partners in the Cold War to contain our former
enemies.
Lets have a fresh look at an ever-changing world.
God Bless,
+Horst-Karl
DR HORST-KARL F. BLOCK, DD,LLD,PhD,EOSJ
Bergerend 4 - 41068 Mönchengladbach - Germany
