Showing posts with label international relations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label international relations. Show all posts

Saturday, September 03, 2011

The Secret Underworld Of Internationalism

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Internationalists strive to unite the world, to exponentialize global collaboration and to positively leverage the infinite possibilities for communication and commerce across all cultural, political and geological barriers -- all of this, for the benefit of Humanity and the preservation and advancement of civilization.

An Internationalist can love his country, as a patriot, but he is sensitive to the interconnectivity of all members of our species. A patriot does not have to be a xenophobe; he doesn't have to choose between his homeland and the planet -- he belongs to both, comfortably and without conflict.

Global business (reference: http://www.tnnwc.com and go to ICS -- International Connections Service) fosters a kind of friendly interdependency between businesspeople (as citizen ambassadors) residing in different countries.

Conceptually, as a slightly selfish businessperson, I would not want my country to declare war on the country where my supplier is located, where my clientele is based, or where my joint venture partner resides.

War becomes an act of economic self-destruction.

With a rudimentary knowledge of history and of behavioral psychology, I can safely say that if peace becomes significantly more profitable than war, the pendulum of Human action will swing toward peace. Peace AND prosperity [in the same sentence].

Part of this globalization and alliance-building process has been initiated by inexpensive VoIP communications, the growth of telecommuting, and the wildfire that is social media. But that technology takes us no further if we cannot trust one another. In cyberspace with the social media bullhorn blasting multidirectionally, dirty secrets are increasingly difficult to keep, and lies ("and the lying liars who tell them") are increasingly easy to unmask. In a word..."Wikileaks."

Trust can only be developed through transparency and consistent integrity demonstrated and reinforced over time.

A major impediment to constructing this bridge of trust is the flood of revelations becoming de-classified about certain unholy alliances, certain "social experiments," covert operations and some incredible deception and crime in some very high places. The unveiling of this "Secret Underworld Of Internationalism" is slowing down the process of building trust.  


Some examples, courtesy of Yahoo! News, follow:

TODAY - September 03, 2011

Libyan rebels' Tripoli military commander Abdel Hakim Belhaj, center, and Misrata field Commander Salahidin Badi, left, military adviser Mustapha Mohamed, right, pose after an interview with the Associated Press in Tripoli, Libya.(AP Photo/Francois Mori)

CIA collaborated with Gadhafi's regime

The discovery of sensitive documents could spark tensions between Libya's new rulers and the U.S. 'Dark chapter'
####

And another...

Exposed: Uncensored WikiLeaks cables posted to Web

APBy RAPHAEL G. SATTER - Associated Press | AP – Thu, Sep 1, 2011
  • FILE - In this July 14, 2011 photo, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange talks to members of the media during a news conference in central London. Anti-secrecy group WikiLeaks said Thursday that its massive archive of unredacted U.S. State Department cables had been exposed in a security breach which it blamed on its one-time partner, Britain's Guardian newspaper. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)FILE - In this July 14, 2011 photo, Wikileaks founder Julian Assange talks to members …
LONDON (AP) — Uncensored copies of WikiLeaks' massive tome of U.S. State Department cables circulated freely Thursday across the Internet, leaving a whole new batch of U.S. sources vulnerable to embarrassment and potential retribution.
The United States, meanwhile, denied ever cooperating with the anti-secrecy group, and blasted Wikileaks for allegedly threatening national security and the safety of confidential informants. [read whole article]
####

Until the stories of the "Secret Underworld Of Internationalism" are fully (and painfully) aired out, behind us, and espionage is no longer perceived as more desirable [profitable] than "overt operations" (i.e., cooperation and collaboration in good faith), Internationalism will have some stubborn and powerfully-entrenched opposition.

We have our work cut out for us, indeed.

Douglas E Castle, for The Internationalist Page Blog

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Monday, August 08, 2011

Attitudes - Mixed Signals Individually, Nationally And Globally

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Through our communications (oral, written and non-verbal), business and social networking, and other interactions, Human Beings are constantly reaching out, and trying to establish connection with other members of our species. While selfishness, to a limited extent can be necessary for survival, we form groups, clubs, colonies and cooperatives for survival as well.

These mixed survival signals wreak havoc in each of us; and they also create problems between nations, which are social/economic/political creatures unto themselves.
There is always that dynamic balance, or imbalance (more appropriately) between isolationism and alliance formation when it comes to international affairs.

During the course of these next few years, this international pulse between behavioral poles, or extremes, will be even more pronounced.

On the Internationalist Front, as individuals are more aggressively and spontaneously reaching out to other individuals and groups through the use of mobile media, VoIP, and other technological advances which make communications easier and far less expensive than ever before, nations and their political leaders may well act in the opposite manner -- being xenophobic, scapegoating other nations, shaming and blaming ethnic groups or cultures, and becoming more territorial.

This may be largely due to a clinging to the last vestiges of the power of sovereignty necessary to political profiteering and the perpetuation of an antiquated paradigm.

China and Russia have both been maligning the United States (which has always been a popular sport, but which was once ostensibly considered to be caused by jealousy) since Standard and Poor's Credit Rating Services downgraded the credit (and credibility) of the U.S. Treasury's debt instruments and the U.S. Dollar -- formerly the world standard for a 'hard currency".

As it is in the U.S., so it will generally be for the rest of the industrialized world. Sadly, this is not because the U.S. is setting the standard for others to follow --- it is merely the downward cascading effect of  having so many foreign nations and their constituents as creditors and holders of U.S. Dollar-denominated debt.

When any debtor shows signs of fiscal weakness (America's "Jobless Recovery" is a terrible attempt at a semantics 'workaround'), creditors begin to grumble. This grumbling just happens to be on a global and potentially cataclysmic scale.

The paradox of paradigms will be between the world of individual civilian ambassadors (importers, exporters, contractors, subcontractors, vendors, suppliers, consumers, friends, social media connections and the like) and their respective governments. This is quite a conflict.

This fascinating piece follows from the MondayMorningMemo, produced and published by the iconic Roy C. Williams, the self-proclaimed (and occasionally very insightful) "Wizard Of Ads." His words ring ominously true upon the ears of every true futurist, trend-watcher and socio-economic forecaster.

History, like a bad lunch, has a tendency to repeat itself. And history tends to swing from extreme to extreme (the pendulum effect) in various astonishingly predictable waves and cycles of time. These reactionary paradigm shifts are not predicated upon the extrapolation of "cause and effect" logic, but on periodicity -- certain lengths of time. Remember the movie "Groundhog Day"?

Ironically, some of these predictable swings can be foreseen by checking your calendar without even taking a look at trending news. Like the life cycle of a Human Being, it would seem that the World has a rhythm of its own. And it would seem that this rhythm is exogenously determined by a force beyond our individual or collective consciousness or abilities to control. I will leave this contemplation to the reader, as it involves issues well beyond my depth, expertise or certainty.

I would ask that you stop (before you go off moping) to appreciate one offsetting and positive possibility. We are sentient creatures with some element of free will. By knowing what is happening here, and by being proactive instead of reactive, we might all get out battered, but we can get out alive and a bit better-prepared for the next bout with this killer wave.

Douglas E Castle

http://TheGlobalFuturist.blogspot.com
http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com
http://www.TNNWC.com


You'll find Roy's treatment of this subject as fascinating as you will find it frightening......

####
"Let me start at the beginning:

We see the world through the lens of an entirely different set of values every 40 years. We become a different people.

We are pulled 20 years up from the tipping point to the zenith of a “We” (1923 to 1943.)
We swing 20 years down to the next tipping point (1963.) Tipping points are interesting times.

We are pulled 20 years up to the zenith of a “Me” (1963 to 1983.)

We swing 20 years down to the next tipping point (2003.)

Eighty years is a complete cycle but there are only 40 years between the extremes. (The 1943 zenith of “We” to 1983 zenith of “Me.”)

We’re nearly halfway up to the next zenith of “We" (2023.) 2011 is 1931 all over again. But instead of being gaga over a thing called “radio” we’re gaga over this thing called “online.”

A new set of values every 40 years...

On one side are the values of “We,” the team, the tribe, the group working together, staying connected.

On the other side are the values of “Me,” the individual, unique and special and possessing unlimited potential.

“Me”

1. …demands freedom of expression.
2. …applauds personal liberty.
3. …believes one man is wiser than a million men, “A camel is a racehorse designed by a committee.”
4. …wants to achieve a better life.
5. …is about big dreams.
6. …desires to be Number One. “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
7. …admires individual confidence and is attracted to decisive persons.
8. …leadership is, “Look at me. Admire me. Emulate me if you can.”
9. …strengthens a society’s sense of identity as it elevates attractive heroes.

“We”

1. …demands conformity for the common good.
2. …applauds personal responsibility.
3. …believes a million men are wiser than one man, “Two heads are better than one.”
4. …wants to create a better world.
5. …is about small actions.
6. …desires to be a productive member of the team. “I came, I saw, I concurred.”
7. …admires individual humility and is attracted to thoughtful persons.
8. …leadership is, “This is the problem as I see it. Please consider the things I am telling you and perhaps we can solve this problem together.”
9. …strengthens a society’s sense of purpose as it considers all its problems.

“Me” and “We” are equal-but-opposite attractions that pull our perspective one way, then the other. Western society swings like a pendulum from one set of values to the other every 40 years with the regularity of an old and reliable grandfather clock.

“Me” and “We” values are equally good, but we always take a good thing too far.

If history is to be our guide, the next 20 years will be when we move from our agreement of mutual brokenness, “I’m Not Okay – You’re Not Okay,” to embrace a self-righteous indignation, “I’m Okay – You’re Not Okay.”

Sanctimonious vigilante-ism will become popular as indignant leaders demonize their enemies and rally their followers by appealing to their inborn sense of rightness and social obligation, “Let’s clean this place up and to hell with compromise. They are entirely wrong and we are entirely right. They are stupid. We are wise. They are evil. We are good.”

The last time we went through this, America formed a committee in Congress called the House Un-American Activities Committee (1938) which later watched with glee while Senator Joseph McCarthy destroyed countless careers by recklessly branding his enemies as “Communists” and creating the infamous blacklists.

This sounds a bit far-fetched, doesn’t it? I know it does. I'm writing because I want you to be able to look back and recall how absurd this all sounded when I first told you what was on the horizon if history can be trusted.

A self-righteous nut with a gun killed dozens of people in Norway and believed he was doing the right thing.

That’s the problem with self-righteous nuts; they always believe they’re doing the right thing.

Roy H. Williams
####

Castle's Commentary:

Observation 1: Futurists and Prognosticators --- We cannot predict or prepare for the future without taking into account these "temporal Pendulum swings" and cycles. An accurate forecasting model or algorithm requires that these seemingly exogenously-determined or caused cycles be given inclusion and proper weighting.


Observation 2: Internationalists and Citizen Ambassadors --- While we are on the cusp of a long-term cycle, we can work together to get through some very rough waters by being aware of what is happening to us, bearing in mind what is at stake, and by being more highly proactive in our watchfulness of our respective national governments in their proclamations and policies. Governments should serve the needs of their individual citizens, and not the opposite. We've seen far too much of that lately.
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Friday, November 20, 2009

The Gravity and Magnetism of INTERNATIONALISM

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The Gravity and Magnetism of INTERNATIONALISM
Note: This article was written by Douglas Castle for THE INTERNATIONALIST PAGE (http://TheInternationalistPage.blogspot.com), where it was first published. This article may not be reproduced or re-published except in its entirety, with full attribution and all hyperlinks left intact and alive. The author is a Featured Columnist for THE NATIONAL NETWORKER Newsletter. Please join the TNNWC Community (free) by going to http://twitlik.com/IN

 Dear Friends:

Internationalism is an idea which clashes with the encultured status and belief systems deeply ingrained in much of the World's leadership. Any change is frightening to the Human psyche, and the acceptance of the idea of "A World Without Walls," while poetically appealing, meets the natural resistance elements of inertia, indolence, ignorance and greed. Protectionism and xenophobia certainly play their own special roles.

It is difficult to go from a lifetime of perceiving others as enemies to recognizing them as prospective allies. A quantum change in broad perception takes time. Internationalism moves forward in small steps, despite major advances in information and communications technology, which are pushing Internationalism forward. Sadly, too many persons, industries and organizations have become invested in building fortresses instead of bridges.

Even in the European Union, there is an awkwardness and a wariness about their tenuously-bound microcosm of Internationalism. But it represents an honest, albeit cautious start.

The following article was excerpted from THE NEW YORK TIMES:

November 20, 2009

Low Profile Leaders Chosen for Top European Posts

BRUSSELS — Leaders of the 27 countries of the European Union on Thursday night chose Herman Van Rompuy, the Belgian prime minister, as the European Union’s first president, and Catherine Ashton of Britain, currently the bloc’s trade commissioner, as its high representative for foreign policy. The vote was unanimous.

Both officials are highly respected but little known outside their own countries. After the European Union’s eight-year battle to rewrite its internal rules and to pass the Lisbon Treaty that created these two new jobs, the selection of such low-profile figures seemed to highlight Europe’s problems instead of its readiness to take a more united and forceful place in world affairs.

In a sense, Europe seemed to be living down to expectations. Earlier, the foreign minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, warned against a “minimalist solution” that would reduce the union’s “opportunity to have a clear voice in the world.”

“It is quite astounding,” said Olivier Ferrand, president of Terra Nova, a center-left research institute in France. “It is jaw-dropping. It is the end of ambition for the E.U. — really disappointing.”

The deal that produced the two choices emerged as a result of backroom negotiations among leaders jockeying for future and more important economic portfolios that could be more powerful in the enlarged European Union, which is still more of an economic union than a political one and looks to remain so.

Mr. Van Rompuy (pronounced ROM-pow), 62, an economist, has been Belgium’s prime minister for less than a year. Ms. Ashton, 53, has next to no foreign policy experience and has never been elected to anything.

They are expected to take up their jobs on Jan. 1. Ms. Ashton still needs the endorsement of the European Parliament.

Both emerged when Britain’s choice for president, Tony Blair, met with overwhelming opposition, stemming from his past pro-American policies, support for the Iraq war and star qualities.

The British prime minister, Gordon Brown, finally bowed to the inevitable late Thursday afternoon and dropped his backing for his predecessor. By supporting Mr. Van Rompuy — a Roman Catholic and a Christian Democrat from the center-right, who supported the positioning of American nuclear weapons in Belgium — Mr. Brown opened up the foreign policy job to the center-left. With support from fellow center-left leaders, he pitched Ms. Ashton for the job.

A fresh opportunity for European leadership appeared to be the great promise of the Lisbon Treaty, which created the jobs of president and foreign policy chief and was approved earlier this month after years of political struggle. The idea had been to simplify the management of an enlarged European Union and to appoint senior European figures who could speak for the group.
But the leaders of Europe’s most powerful countries, France and Germany, did not want to be overshadowed. Nor apparently did their foreign ministers.

Thursday night, Mr. Van Rompuy told reporters, mixing English, French and Dutch, that “I did not seek this job.”

“But from tonight,” he added, “I will do it with conviction and enthusiasm.”

He said that he was reluctant to abandon the stewardship of Belgium, but that “Europe is a union of values and has the responsibility of playing an important role in the world.”

The selection of Ms. Ashton — formally Baroness Ashton of Upholland — was particularly striking given the deep foreign policy experience of both officials whom she will succeed in the European Union: Javier Solana, who had been Spain’s foreign minister and then secretary general of NATO, and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who had been Austria’s foreign minister.

By contrast, Ms. Ashton has had jobs in domestic policy and was appointed to the House of Lords in 1999. She was named leader of the House of Lords, in charge of steering government legislation through the chamber, in 2007. She was then appointed to the European Commission in October 2008. As European commissioner for trade, she has negotiated with foreigners and impressed her colleagues.

Ms. Ashton told reporters that “it is a measure of my surprise that I have not prepared a speech.” She said that she was Britain’s first female European Union commissioner and the first woman to be trade commissioner, and was proud to be the first high representative. “Am I an ego on legs? I am not,” she said. “Judge me on what I do, and I think you will be proud of me.”

If the point of the Lisbon Treaty was to create a more prominent face for Europe, the result on Thursday was the opposite. It appeared to be a political deal that would do little to reduce the power, stature and influence of big nations or their foreign ministers.

“It’s going to be difficult to explain to the public why there was so much fuss about the Lisbon Treaty if all we get is someone no one has heard of,” said one European Union official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Mr. Van Rompuy, who likes bowling duckpins and writing haiku, has earned respect for calming ethnic tensions in Belgium in his 11 months as prime minister. Someone who met him recently described him as intelligent and humorous, but “timid.” He only reluctantly took on the job of prime minister, and did not push himself forward for this one.

One recent Van Rompuy haiku went this way: “A fly zooms, buzzes; Spins and is lost in the room; He does no one harm.”

In a sign of how little respect the foreign policy job appeared to attract, the most prominent person mentioned previously to fill it, David Miliband, the British foreign secretary, chose instead to work domestically to revive the fortunes of the Labour Party, widely expected to lose the next election to the Conservatives. His decision not to pursue a lucrative job in Brussels has only helped him in Britain.

Stephen Castle reported from Brussels, and Steven Erlanger from Paris.
####

The good news is that progress is being made. It is my hope, and the hope of many other Internationalists, that this progress picks up speed and momentum.

Faithfully,

Douglas Castle
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