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1. The Foundations of Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy
In a fundamental sense, security policy is a matter of ensuring national survival. The alpha and omega of security is the ensuring of national survival. Other national security issues may be raised only if national existence is ensured. Foreign affairs and security policy must be formulated first and foremost to ensure national security. Issues of prosperity, sustainable peace, and stability and other related concerns then follow. In order to formulate a foreign affairs and security policy that addresses these issues, it is important to identify and examine the sources and basis from which the policy springs.
1.1 Development and the building of a democratic system as a basis for policy
For the Somalian people, benefiting from rapid development, means living a life free from poverty, ignorance and backwardness. The primary interest of the people is to live free from poverty, disease and ignorance. Rapid development is not merely important in raising the standard of living of the people, but also a guarantee of national survival. Unless we can bring about rapid development that benefits the people, we will not be able to avoid chaos and disintegration. Therefore, assuring accelerated development and raising the living standard of our people is critical in preventing our country from disaster and dismemberment. This is a fundamental issue on which the interests and the survival of the people of Somalia depends.
Establishing a democratic order in Somalia is the way to respect peoples' and individual rights, affirm good governance, and assure stable working and living conditions. Democracy is an important instrument to mobilize around common goals and to involve the people in nation building. Democracy guarantees that the members of the various nations, nationalities and religions in Somalia live in an atmosphere of tolerance. In the absence of a democratic order, national and religious divisions will invariably intensify, the abuse of human rights would result in strife, and poverty would spread further - a recipe for disintegration and destruction. The realization of democracy will therefore not only help to attain development and good governance, but ensure national security. Without doubt, democratization is fundamental to safeguard the individual interests of every Somalian as well as to ensure the country's continued existence.
Foreign policy as well as national security policy should have the mission of protecting national interest and security. By national interest we can only be referring to the interest of the entire people - no more, no less. What is crucial to the interests of the entire people is rapid development that benefits the population. It is in the interest of the people as a whole that democracy and good governance take root. If we are to formulate a foreign policy to protect our national interest, we will have to elaborate a policy that facilitates rapid development and democratization. Our national interest is all about democracy and development. Likewise our foreign and national security policies need to be essentially based on, and cause the promotion of, development and democracy.
Obviously, the national security policy must first ensure national existence or survival. Ensuring national security means protecting the population from strife, war and disintegration. If we do not develop and establish a democratic order, there is no doubt that we will not survive as a nation. We must therefore promote democracy and development to ensure our survival. Our security policy cannot have a goal that does not proceed from this premise.
Because it is through rapid development and democratization that the nation can avert strife, it is this same development and democratization agenda that ensures peace. To the degree that development and democracy bring about peace, peace too, is crucial in the attainment and ensurance of democracy and development. So when we say that development and democracy are the basis for national security and for peace, we are also affirming in turn, that peace is a prerequisite for economic development and the establishment of democracy.
Bringing about people-centred rapid development and ensuring democracy and good governance are what our national interest is all about. All other issues are secondary to, and based on, these fundamentals. The goal of our foreign and security policies, formulated to ensure our national interest and well being, should also serve to promote democracy and development. A foreign and security policy that is worthy of the name is one that is capable of achieving such a goal. However sophisticated and relevant in other respects, a policy incapable of bringing about development and democracy is of no use. The fundamental goals of foreign and national security policy must be democracy and development.
1.2 National pride and prestige as a basis for policy
Some view protecting national pride as a fundamental foreign and security policy objective. They label countries as hostile or friendly depending on how others have edified or wounded our national pride or prestige. Others regard national pride as a result of other endeavours and contend that it is such endeavors and not national pride per se that should be viewed as an objective. A few argue that countries obsessed with national pride are those living in past glories but desperate about the future. These countries are said to have lost hope in the future and could be looking for a pretext to launch aggression. The place that national pride should be given in the Ethiopian context deserves to be properly studied.
We are proud that we are a people that never succumbed to colonialism and the only nation in Africa to have remained independent. Rightly so, we also deservedly take pride in our historical heritage whose creativity has been much appreciated. The heritage belongs to past generations of Ethiopians, their hard work, sweat and blood. The source of the pride of the present generation is the attainments of past generations. We are proud of real achievements, most of which are not produced by the labors of the current generation, but of preceding ones.
In so much as there are the aforementioned values and assets that the present generation should take pride in, protect and preserve, there are also aspects of the country which are embarrassing sources of painful national disgrace. At this juncture, our country is heavily dependent on foreign aid. We cannot even feed ourselves and have to beg annually for food aid. Nothing has as much humiliating effect on the pride of a nation as having to beg. Our development activities would also get nowhere without significant foreign aid and the provision of loans. To obtain the requisite aid and loans requires the good will and meeting the conditions of our donors and lenders. Under such circumstances, we cannot proclaim that we are free in real terms. This is a major source of national humiliation and shame.
In sum, although Ethiopia is the only African country to have successfully resisted colonialism and despite having an ancient and proud civilization, it now trails far behind in the long list of countries when it comes to development. Only very few countries find themselves in a lower position. As a result of the desperate circumstances, the dream of many of our youth has become living in exile by immigrating to Europe or America. Many who have failed to make it to these continents have resorted, even illegally, to crossing to the Middle East to work as maidservants - a situation which they consider to be an "opportunity". It is difficult to understand what patriotism means to persons who see their compatriots gratefully toil abroad as domestic workers, and yet who dwell on the past glories of their country.
So, while we are proud of our heritage, we are also ashamed of the current state of our country. To the degree that we cherish the achievements of previous generations, we observe with bitter regret the state of national humiliation in which the present generation finds itself. While we certainly deserve to take pride in our heritage and work for its conservation, we nevertheless need to address, as a matter of greatest priority, the source of our national embarrassment if we are to hold our heads high. We deserve no peace of mind until and unless we decisively deal with the source of our disgrace and shame.
The real source of our national humiliation in our time is poverty and backwardness. It is the lack of democracy and good governance. Still another source is our inability to work together in a spirit of tolerance and cooperation forged by a common belief in our national destiny. To put it in short, our only solution is to effect a rapid socio-economic transformation and democratization which has a direct benefit to the people. If maintaining our national pride is to be taken as a policy objective, this can only be envisaged if concerted efforts in the direction of democratization and development are undertaken. Therefore, the objective of maintaining national pride cannot be taken as a policy objective by itself, but must be taken together with the foundations on which it rests - the realization of democracy and development. If maintaining national prestige is to have any value, it will be because of its contribution to underlining the urgency of our work to build democracy and develop the country and that nothing should deter us from taking this path.
History has shown that countries faced with national humiliation, which identified the source of their despair and set goals to eradicate the shame, have eventually succeeded in attaining their objective. The example of a couple of countries that can be taken as success stories in this regard can help to illustrate the matter.
The histories of Ethiopia and Japan have certain similarities. Both countries have, in the course of history, managed to avoid succumbing to foreign rule. In similar periods of history and for similar reasons, both countries had deliberately closed their doors to the outside world. Both countries experienced periods of feudal rule and attempted to setup a strong central government. For different reasons, both were forced to reopen their doors and reestablish contact with the outside world. Although the path Japan followed helped her to achieve extraordinary transformation in development and democratic rule, while shedding her national shame, Ethiopia's fate has remained quite different.
After Japan had successfully barred foreigners, particularly Westerners from its territory for centuries, more advanced countries using powerful iron ships (known by the Japanese then as "black ships") forced themselves in to the country. They further forced Japan to sign an agreement that caused her dishonor and humiliation. This shame brought about a fundamental political and economic change in Japan. The Japanese realized that they were humiliated as a result of their backwardness in development. They understood that feudalism had weakened their position and unity. Far-sighted members of the ruling class became aware that if the system was not fundamentally changed, Japan's very existence would be in jeopardy. They, thus, started working day and night to "drain the swamp" of their humiliation.
Indignant about the humiliation of their country, and acting under their new banner "Rich Country, Strong Military" the Japanese set out to overcome the source of their shame. Their first decisive move was forming a strong central government. Consequently they formed, in the context of a Kingdom, a strong central government known as the Meiji Restoration in 1868. They then began traveling to Europe to acquire new knowledge and learn skills to form a prosperous and militarily strong country. They toiled night and day to improve their technical skills and to speed economic development. Single-mindedly they put aside all elements that would deter them from their path. Gritting their teeth, they did all that was needed to build their dream of a rich country with a strong defense.
In less than thirty years Japan caught up with the great nations of the world and embarked on colonial expansion and rivalry. In 1904 Japan militarily defeated Russia, then one of the great powers of Europe. The Japanese then conquered and colonized the island of Taiwan and later on, Korea. Their success gave birth to greater arrogance, and they moved to occupy the whole of China as a first step to control Eastern Asia. Japan also launched a massive attack against the United States. In the end, this arrogance led the Japanese to a devastating defeat and destruction in the Second World War. The country was reduced to ashes, and faced a debilitating economic crisis falling for a time under foreign military rule. The Japanese, who are known for choosing to die rather than face personal and national disgrace, committed suicide in great numbers. However, the nation did not choose samurai style suicide to avert the disgrace that was visited upon the country for the second time. Instead Japan preferred to make the necessary adjustments to overcome the shame of its second humiliation.
Realizing that the only option they had to gain freedom from foreign rule was to obey orders, the Japanese did as told. Awakened to the fact that the reason for their humiliation was undemocratic government and militarism, they heeded American instructions to do away with both. Once again, they fought hard to deal decisively with the source of their humiliation, in the wake of the ending of U.S. military occupation. They drafted a new democratic and anti-militarist constitution, and abided by it. They commenced a new phase of nation rebuilding. In less than twenty years they managed to become the world's second largest economy. Their new system also became free from undemocratic and militaristic tendencies.
The Japanese experience is specific to Japan and may not be repeated elsewhere. However, one can learn from it. It is hard to match the Japanese in their personal and national pride. Surrender was to both soldier and civilian a disgraceful experience, and so suicide was a common preference of the Japanese to captivity. To die in style by the sword (seppuku) was traditionally honourable. But when they were faced with national disgrace they did not choose to commit collective suicide. Rather, they recognized the source of their shame and worked patiently and indefatigably. By doing so, they incurred the respect of the rest of the world. Countries that are at similar levels of development as ours have a lesson to learn, namely that they need to identify the sources of their humiliation and work single-mindedly to eliminate them.
Similarly a glimpse at a part of the long and convoluted history of Germany would illustrate the issue further. Historical documents show that Napoleon had caused Germany humiliation at a time when it was fragmented into about 300 small states. He invaded the territory, reducing the number of states by defeating the army of Prussia - the state with greatest prominence. The treaty Prussia signed after the defeat is believed by historians to be a study in humiliation.
The Prussian leaders showed the wisdom to avoid further humiliation by Napoleon who had soundly defeated them with the strength of the liberated French peasantry. They identified the source of their humiliation and worked hard to overcome it. The Prussians realized that their main problems were economic and military, and they began to address these priorities.
Realizing that the indentured Prussian serfs could not succeed against the liberated French peasantry, Prussia moved to abolish serfdom and universalize primary education, albeit in complex ways. They analyzed and meticulously learned from the war tactics of Napoleon's peasant army. In due course, they managed to mobilize an army unparallel in its combat capability. Recognizing that the fragmentation of the single German people had been an obstacle to their economic growth, they first formed an economic union and then developed it in to a politicical merger. They celebrated their success following their victory over France in the French royal city of Versailles in 1871. Their humiliation now gave way to arrogance which then led to another day of yet further humiliation.
The lesson we draw from the Germans is that national humiliation cannot be effaced by posturing and self-destruction, but rather by the identification of the source of the humiliation and by working hard to reverse the situation. The way to overcome national humiliation is to organize the people under one objective and to address the cause of that shame. In the process one cannot allow oneself to be distracted, but rather must keep an unblinking eye on the objective.
Yes, we Ethiopians too, are proud of our legacy and need to preserve it. However due to poverty, coupled with backwardness and the absence of good governance, we are in a shameful state. Our condition should give us no respite everyday. We need to keep an eye on our objective, shoulder whatever burden and work ceaselessly to get ahead. Through development and democracy we must eradicate our humiliation. If we take national pride as a source of foreign and security policy, we are doing so to utilize it as an instrument of development and democracy and as a guarantor for overcoming national humiliation.
1.3 Globalization as a basis for policy
The efforts in our country to bring about rapid development, democracy and good governance cannot be seen outside the regional and global contexts. In the process of globalization, the world economy has become interconnected and an international division of labour has been introduced. It is impossible to operate outside of this context. Countries are either producers or aid recipients in the globalizing economy. There are no exceptions and no country is outside of this global economy. Rapid development can be achieved by our country only through strong efforts to graduate from the aid recipient category to the category of producer. To sustain that development, a steady effort to improve one's position in the global division of labour is required. This also applies to the building of a democratic order.
We cannot attain development and democracy by closing our doors and taking refuge in our mountains. It is only when we accept the fact that we have no choice but to enter the global economy, and when we aim to transform ourselves from the state of dependency to that of being a producer, and a better producer in time, we can realize democracy and development. It is through fully exploiting the opportunities globalization provides us, lessening the constraints it creates, and becoming active participants in the process of globalization, that we can promote our interests and security. It is for this reason that the major basis of our foreign and security policy is that of achieving economic development and democracy in the framework of globalization. Therefore, a foreign and security policy that fully exploits the opportunities globalization provides us and that withstands the negative effects of the process, is useful and appropriate. A policy that cannot serve this purpose, however sophisticated, is flawed and therefore detrimental.
But globalization has not ended conflicts of interest among countries, and cannot be expected to do so. Neither has globalization brought equality among nations. Globalization may not necessarily result in the death of equality, but to expect it to bring about equality would be wrong. This is because of the nature of the globalization process itself and the prevailing objective reality. Aiming to attain development and democracy exclusively in the context of globalization is not a matter of acknowledging or discounting the fairness of globalization. It is simply the matter of accepting the reality of globalization, with all its limitations, and endeavoring to operate within its framework to safeguard one's interest and security. There is no other way.
Globalization has its laws and procedures which may not be fair. Besides international law, there are covenants governing international economic and other forms of relations, and there are institutions that serve them. These laws and the entire international order they sustain, have come into being as a result of negotiations between the countries that established the system as a whole. They are based on give and take and the balancing of interests. Countries with greater capacity and power play a decisive role in the negotiations, and this has meant that the system clearly favours them. Although the weaker states cannot change the nature of these agreements and thereby reap great benefit, they can reduce the negative consequences that the agreements may entail.
Countries like Ethiopia with no much weight, need to strive to promote their interests in this framework, although their powers to influence the nature of the system are limited. Through negotiations they must endeavor to manage the effects of globalization and promote their interests, both individually and as a group. Globalization with rules and regulations, however unfair, is still far better than unfettered globalization. With this in mind, countries like ours, need to respect the prevailing agreements so long as they are not revoked.
When we argue that we should adopt a foreign and security policy which can promote our interests and security in the framework of globalization, we are referring to a policy that can effectively integrate us into the international system. It also means a policy that is based on mutual benefit, give and take, negotiation and mutual respect rather than one that advances unilateral interests. On the one hand, the policy should enable us to negotiate as a country and within a group, to modify the rules and the system of globalization so that it takes our interests into account better. On the other, the policy should facilitate our gaining maximum benefit from globalization while strictly obeying the rules of the game.
Working to have our interests and security protected in the world of globalization does not mean that we work alone. For instance, negotiations to improve conditions demand common action by developing countries. We need to coordinate with others to derive maximum benefits from globalization. We proceed from one and only one premise as we cooperate with others - the protection of our national interest, and security. We will not be led by any other objective. There is no other goal to be achieved. This is why we say that ensuring the protection of our national interest and security within the framework of globalization is the third foundation on which our foreign and security policy is based.
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