Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.)

The world after September 11, 2001, is not just about America’s commitment to defeating terrorism, its patrons and partners, but a larger realization that the 21st century is emerging with new challenges, just as the world has entered every new century. This will require expanded thinking about globalization and the ways and uses of power and politics.

The record of globalization in world affairs is a mixed one, with many parts of the world, including most of Africa and the Middle East, being left behind. Harvard University Professor Stanley Hoffman has written that, “in the realm of global society, much will depend on whether the United States will overcome its frequent indifference to the costs that globalization imposes on poorer countries.” One can subscribe to that tenet or not. However, there are some startling facts that the world must deal with: Half the world, three billion people, live on $2.00 or less per day. More than 800 million people go hungry every year. In 1999, GDP in all Arab countries was less than that of Spain ($531 billion compared to $595.5 billion). Sweden receives more foreign direct investment than all Arab countries combined.

A survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project, released in December 2002, found that the spread of disease is considered as the most pressing international challenge by citizens in a majority of the countries polled. More than 28 million of the approximately 40 million people infected with HIV/AIDS live in sub-Saharan Africa, and 9% of all sub-Saharans between the ages of 15 and 49 carry HIV. This is an historic tragedy, and not just in Africa. The projected growth rates and spread of this disease in China, India, and Russia signal an alarming trend for humanity at the beginning of this new century.

In the recent past, America’s greatest threat was the Soviet empire, its global ambitions, nuclear arsenal, and ideological tyranny. Today, threats come not from a rival nation or doctrine or coalition of nations, but from transnational cartels and networks of terrorists that undermine the world’s security, societies and stability, as well as America’s security, values and way of life. In addition to terrorism, Moses Naim, the editor and publisher of Foreign Policy, has written of the challenges of the five wars of globalization: the international trade in drugs, arms, intellectual property, people, and money. To meet these threats requires extensive international intelligence and law enforcement cooperation and alliances, cooperation and multi-national efforts and relationships like we have never before experienced.

Some of the most serious threats to American security today come not from rival powers or coalitions, but from failed and failing states. In 2002, Professor Robert Rotberg wrote in Foreign Affairs about the dangers to world security of failed states such as Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia and Sudan. These countries exist on the edge of modernity and civilization, and are not only breeding grounds and potential exporters of terrorism, but sources of political and economic instability in their regions. We cannot allow this list to continue to grow. The peoples of these and other states on the brink of collapse deserve a future of hope and promise, not misery and despair. Helping prevent more failed states, especially in Africa, the Middle East and South and Central Asia, must be a priority in America’s foreign policy . . . because it will determine the future of the world.

Working through the United Nations and regional alliances allows America to reinforce, not weaken, its power, principles and purpose. On the Korean peninsula, for example, our allies in South Korea and Japan continue to work shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States to get Kim Jong Il to give up his nuclear weapons program. They understand the threat from North Korea better than we do. They live with it every day. America gains by working with and empowering our allies to share leadership and initiative.

The challenges of economic development and political reform, to offer hope and a better way of life for those who have so far missed the benefits of globalization, requires a balance of American leadership and international support. We cannot solve completely the problem of world poverty, but we can do more to help build coalitions to eradicate world hunger and disease. America must establish programs of partnership with the peoples and governments of the developing world to break this cycle of inhumanity. We must do more to encourage private sector development, the rule of law, transparency, human rights, and trade-based growth in the Middle East and Central Asia, and throughout the developing world. And we must hold governments accountable for their actions. That is the intent of the Bush Administration’s five billion dollar Millennium Challenge Account, which I support, as a creative initiative to meet the challenges of poverty and development across the globe.

America must guard against the hubris of great power at this critical time in its history. Our power is unsurpassed, but our security continues to rest on our alliances, our values and our strength. We must be patient and exercise a mature judgment in our decisions that will encourage others to follow and trust our leadership, rather than question and turn away from our initiatives.

At this precarious juncture in American history, America needs more humility than hubris in the applications of American military power, and the recognition that our interests are best served through alliances and consensus.

This article was excerpted from an address by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) delivered at the University of Notre Dame on January 24, 2003. Sen. Hagel’s visit to campus was co-sponsored by the Departments of History and Political Science, the First Year of Studies, and the Kroc and Kellogg Institutes.

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