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The Jordan Times,
19 = October=20 2001=20

For Global Leadership: = Search for=20 the Positive

By Kennedy = Graham

In determining the best response to the events of 11 = September in=20 New York, the global community faces the most severe test = yet as it=20 seeks to unite for a better future. As is palpably obvious, = it fails=20 to speak with one voice.=20

In the intellectual and political chaos that ensues, the = leading=20 governments of different value systems around the world, or = on=20 occasion certain powerful and wealthy non-state entities, = seek to=20 arrogate global legitimacy through allusions either to = secularity -=20 the 'international community' - or the divine - the = 'faithful and=20 the infidel'. The debate of the past decade between Asian = and=20 Western values has been replaced, at least temporarily, with = the=20 struggle between fundamentalist Islamic values and their = Western=20 counterpart. A clash between civilizations has, in certain = ways,=20 existed for thousands of years and, as the world shrinks, = the=20 recurrent distemper between them rises more frequently to = boiling=20 point.

We are in such a moment today. With the destructive = weaponry that=20 is now in our hands, however, the challenge of learning to = live=20 together and fashion a global political system that can = manage=20 conflict and defuse tension has attained high stakes. For = our common=20 redemption and perhaps even survival in the long-term, we = had better=20 get it right.=20

What principles of leadership, at the global level, can = be=20 developed to guide our world leaders towards enlightened = strategies=20 in such critical times? What insights on how to think and = act might=20 they glean from the experiences and policies practised by = past=20 leaders?

History is by no means replete with examples of past acts = of=20 positive and visionary statecraft. Ever since Menes united = Egypt=20 five millennia ago and Sargon carved out the world's first = empire=20 eight centuries later, most leaders have dreamed of unity = imposed=20 through conquest rather than forged through reason. Two = millennia=20 ago, Asoka of India, and later T'ai Sung of China, laid down = for=20 their subjects the values of compassion and harmony that = were=20 fashioned along Buddhist and Confucian ideals, initiatives = that were=20 unprecedented in their import for political behaviour. But = both men=20 had, prior to their conversions, secured their empires = through the=20 uncompromising use of force.=20

Some five centuries ago Akbar underwent a similar = conversion,=20 seeking to found a new religion that might extract the = 'best' from=20 the various faiths practised by people in his pluralistic = realm, but=20 his innovation failed the test of time. Contemporaneously, = Kang Hsi=20 would send his monks abroad to learn from other = civilizations, and=20 they would return to impart their new knowledge to an = enlightened=20 monarch and his subjects.=20

In modern times, leaders with visions of unity through = reason=20 have wrought their deeds on the global stage. Wilson seized = the=20 moment of destruction and despair after the 'war to end all = wars' to=20 weave the concept of international organization, but he = failed to=20 carry his own country along. Hammarskjold stood firm on a = clear-eyed=20 vision of UN principle half a century ago, and was killed = before one=20 superpower could remove him. Boutros-Ghali sought to do much = the=20 same half a decade ago and was swept aside by the other.

Today, the practical reality of crisis requires = leadership of the=20 highest level of statesmanship, of the kind displayed by the = present=20 Secretary-General, latest recipient of the Nobel Peace = Prize. The=20 leading nation-states must aspire to that same level of = insight and=20 wisdom.=20

Military surgery with associated 'collateral damage' will = no=20 doubt meet the first proclaimed objective of 'Operation = Enduring=20 Freedom' - the removal of the present infrastructure of the = training=20 camps of the organization believed to have planned and = executed the=20 September events, and of the regime that harboured and = supported it.

It will inevitably fail to achieve its second objective - = the=20 permanent eradication of such organizations intent on = repeating such=20 deeds. Rather it will spawn a larger number of individuals = prepared=20 to cause global havoc through martyrdom. 'Draining the = swamp' will=20 simply send the water elsewhere. Yet a clear majority of = American=20 citizens wish to see military strikes executed in the full = knowledge=20 that this increases the likelihood of further attacks = against=20 themselves. So revenge and justice are inextricably linked, = the=20 battle is joined, and we have learnt nothing from history.

Prevention of the cancer of terrorism, whether = perpetrated by=20 individuals or organizations or states (one need not debate = the=20 'excessive use of force' by Israel in Palestine but simply = recall=20 France in New Zealand in 1985) cannot be achieved by force - = it is=20 almost a contradiction in terms. In the global village only = a=20 healthy global lifestyle will remove such an illness - a = more=20 equitable trading system, full debt write-offs for the=20 least-developed, attainment of the development assistance = targets,=20 full payment of UN dues on time rather than during the next = crisis,=20 and a commitment to global sustainability and environmental = remedial=20 action, accompanied by a reduction in over-consumption in = the North.=20

These are not simply words but actual policies that = affect lives=20 - that eliminate the dire conditions that drive desperate = young men=20 to plunge into buildings. Changes in policy require a prior = change=20 in heart and mind-set: an avoidance of claims of = civilizational=20 superiority from national leaders and of the exemption of = one's=20 nationals from international jurisdiction. It requires a = genuine=20 compassion for all of humanity that extends beyond selective = and=20 piecemeal aid to ravaged continents, embracing even-handed = policies=20 towards all dispossessed peoples everywhere.

Christian pacifism and Gandhian satyagraha may not, in = the nature=20 of things, drive national and coalition strategies in our=20 contemporary mortal world. But a realistic appraisal of the = mistakes=20 of the past, a rational perception of a Hobbesian need for = survival=20 through unity, and a genuine paradigmatic shift in our level = of=20 compassion to fit the requirements of the global village, = force us=20 all to change.=20

Once the Taliban are removed, let the world cease and = desist from=20 further military action. Let us build a peace park on the = site of=20 the World Trade Centre, funded by international = contributions=20 including from those who are critical of the host's foreign = policy.=20 May there be temples of all faiths built there, open to all. = Let it=20 be the venue for a permanent 'dialogue among civilizations' = where=20 world leaders, having delivered themselves of their official = speeches in the General Assembly, come together for more = informal=20 discourse and mutual enlightenment. Allow the first leaders = there,=20 even on the smouldering ruins of today, to be President = Khatami of=20 Iran, President Havel of the Czech Republic, and Senior = Minister Lee=20 Kuan Yew of Singapore.

Others may follow - particularly young leaders from = Israel and=20 Palestine, from India and Pakistan, from the United States = and=20 China. May they clasp hands, united in pursuit of a common = goal - a=20 decent, diverse and harmonious, human civilization. This way = perhaps, we can do justice to those visionaries who have = gone=20 before, dreaming of what humankind is capable in its better = moments.=20 Not all is yet lost.

Kennedy Graham is Director of the UN = University=20 Leadership Academy. His comments are expressed in a personal = capacity.

R= eturn=20 to previous page

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