Thomas Jefferson is attributed with saying, “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." As the current outbreak of revolutions, protests and demands for constitutional reforms spreads contagiously across the oil-rich Middle East, the ‘liberty trees’ of Oman, Yemen, Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia and Egypt are all being refreshed; some more than others, and the blood of patriots, as usual, flows far more than that of any dictator. At the heart of these uprisings: the undying quest for democracy.
In the year 1900, there were no fully democratic governments anywhere on earth. The U.S. was decidedly undemocratic in its slave-trading on-set, neglecting to qualify as such until equal voting rights were extended to minorities, then women; well into the twentieth century.
Today, more than half the planet enjoys some form of representative democracy. The rise in American democracy coincided with her rise in global dominance, and political advancement of democratic theory eventually began filtering into U.S. foreign policy rhetoric. In reality, “democracy promotion” would be limited to such developments that effectively enhanced U.S. economic interests.
President Carter, for example, gave support to the duly-elected Sandinistas in Nicaragua. Subsequent cooperation by President Ortega’s government with the Cuban Castro regime prompted President Reagan to reverse these relations. The Cold War was on, and Reagan made no secret of his disdain for popular uprisings in Central and South America. Viewing them as proxy regimes, the State Department was authorized to bolster efforts of right-wing paramilitary groups looking to overthrow labor movements unresponsive to free market economic theory. Coup attempts, assassinations, and state-sponsored terrorism became commonplace, culminating with the criminality of the Iran-Contra Affair. Guatemala, Colombia and El Salvador would receive similar treatment.
Reagan’s support for Apartheid regimes in South Africa further epitomized this anti-democratic strain in foreign relations. President George H. W. Bush, a mere CIA Director at the time, authorized a pay raise to Manuel Noriega, the “Reaganite” dictator notorious for human rights violations unleashed upon Panamanian civilians. Continual support for iron-fisted fascism, such as Chile’s Pinochet junta, the Marcos regime in the Philippines, Suharto in Indonesia, the Saudi royals, Mubarak in Egypt, Musharraf in Pakistan comprise some of the numerous instances where America turned a blind eye to authoritarianism.
All the while, our leaders speak of democracy’s crucial necessity; repeating the assertion despite the hypocritical actions of the state. Reagan was no exception, explaining how “democracy is worth dying for, because it’s the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.”
George W. Bush often cited the logic of ‘democracy promotion’, but was quick to enlist Congress to federally fund the Musharraf dictatorship simply due to Pakistan’s geographical convenience for launching the Afghanistan invasion.
Last month, with the Egyptian revolt still smoldering, Rush Limbaugh quipped, “Pharaoh Obama gonna take credit for all this.” Well, no, he won’t; but historians may extend such credit once the credible accuracy of 20/20 hindsight is afforded.
Linking Obama to the democratic awakening in and around Egypt traces directly to the president’s speech generally addressed to the world’s 1.5 billion Muslims in June 2009. Seeking “a new beginning”, Obama neglected to outline specifics for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal; instead pushing for a remedy of democratic reformation, potentially stabilizing a lasting peace in the Middle East.
Speaking at Cairo University, Obama described his “unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn't steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideas; they are human rights. And that is why we will support them everywhere.”
Obama gave this speech at a time when Mubarak was still firmly in control over an Egyptian ‘police state’. He worked on the speech during a sleepover hosted by Saudi Arabian King Abdullah; a monarch brutally opposed to all things democratic. Egypt and Saudi Arabia both boast a strong alliance with the United States, despite maintaining their lengthy traditions of violent despotism. Given that the current administration approved an arms deal with the now deposed Tunisian monarchy, even Barack can find room for improvement in this work in progress.
Following the Cairo speech, Obama then addressed the United Nations General Assembly, clarifying his administration’s stance that“democracy cannot be imposed on any nation from the outside. Each society must search for its own path, and no path is perfect. Each country will pursue a path rooted in the culture of its people and in its past traditions.”
Obama confessed to world leaders gathered at the UN “that America has too often been selective in its promotion of democracy. But that does not weaken our commitment; it only reinforces it. There are basic principles that are universal; there are certain truths which are self-evident -- and the United States of America will never waver in our efforts to stand up for the right of people everywhere to determine their own destiny.”
The international community lauded this New Beginning in unison, and the Norwegians awarded Obama the Nobel Peace Prize for creating “a new climate in international politics” where “multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position”. The expeditious nature of the president’s selection seemed ludicrous, unless these tonal shifts are taken into account.
While accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Obama cited the contention that “America has never fought a war against a democracy”. After debating several technical challenges, most political scientists throw their intellectual credence behind this notion.
Empires attempting to suppress democracy ultimately collapse under the weight of their own autocratic avarice. Historically, U.S. foreign policy and geopolitical inter-relations were tainted with sanctimonious bouts of ‘exceptionalism’, replete with economic imperialism and “manifest destiny”. The martyrs dying for democratic liberation help improve conditions for realizing true global security.
President Obama, for his part, leads the world in the advancement of this progress.
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