Project on Middle East Democracy

Project on Middle East Democracy
The POMED Wire Archives


Category: Diplomacy

U.S. Must Take Action on Egypt Rhetoric

December 21st, 2010 by Evan

Neil Hicks, International Policy Advisor at Human Rights First, urges the Obama administration to turn its democracy and human rights rhetoric into action. The White House’s approach to Egypt has been inconsistent, Hicks writes. “When Secretary of State Clinton held a press conference in Washington D.C. with the Egyptian Foreign Minister just prior to the election on November 10 she failed to mention human rights or the need for the Egyptian government to do more to meet its own commitments to move forward with democracy and political reform.” Continuing to support the status quo in Egypt will only hurt U.S. interests in the long run, Hicks concludes.


Posted in Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, US foreign policy | Comment »

U.S. Urges Egypt to Makes Promised Reforms

December 20th, 2010 by Evan

Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, authored an op-ed in Saturday’s Washington Post urging the Egyptian government to fulfill its commitments to pursue political reform. Citing low turnout and widespread reports of government interference, Posner wrote that while the recent parliamentary elections were not credible in the eyes of most Egyptians, the 2011 presidential elections present another opportunity for Egyptian authorities to enhance citizens’ confidence in government. Posner specifically called for an end to the decades-long state of emergency, the enactment of promised counterterrorism legislation that would help protect the rights of Egyptians, and less restriction on the media and NGOs.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections | Comment »

Reactions to QDDR, Continued

December 17th, 2010 by Evan

The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) released a statement praising the State Department’s Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) for making democracy and governance programming “a primary focus area.” IFES specifically commended the State Department for creating a Senior Advisor position on Civil Society and Emerging Democracies, establishing an Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, and the launching of a Center of Excellence on Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance at USAID. The Council on Foreign Relations also published analysis of the report from four of its scholars, Laurie Garrett, Yanzhong Huang, Isobel Coleman, and Paul Stares.

Posted in Diplomacy, Foreign Aid | Comment »

Reactions to the QDDR

December 16th, 2010 by Jason

The release of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) has so far been received with cautious optimism. Josh Rogin writes that several development NGOs have “praised” the QDDR, while also expressing skepticism: “Paul O’Brien, vice president of policy and advocacy campaigns for Oxfam America, noted that while the QDDR clearly puts ambassadors and chiefs of missions at the head of country teams as the so-call ‘CEOs’ of American diplomacy, it doesn’t tackle how the inevitable conflicts between short-term foreign policy objectives and longer-term development goals are resolved.”

Connie Veillette, writing at the Rethinking U.S. Foreign Assistance blog, says that there are “many things to like,” including a “focus on improving hiring, staffing, and filling the mid-level gap through more flexible mechanisms.” However, she does list several points of “unfinished business,” including “how will State and USAID grapple with managing more than two dozen government agencies engaged in some type of foreign assistance program?” Siddartha Mahanta sounds a pessimistic note: “the United States diplomatic corps might get a major boost in power and personnel. Realistically? They probably won’t.” He goes on to describe the political roadblocks facing the reforms, and how Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who has advocated for cuts in the State Department budget and is set to become the chairperson of the House Foreign Services Committee, may prove to be uncooperative.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, NGOs, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »

State Department Releases QDDR

December 16th, 2010 by Evan

The State Department released its first Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review (QDDR) December 15 (full text here, executive summary here). The report, titled “Leading Through Civilian Power,” is divided into four sections: “Diplomacy for the 21st Century,” which addresses how the U.S. will adapt its diplomacy to face new threats and opportunities; “Transforming Development to Deliver Results,” which lays out efforts to reform USAID; “Preventing and Responding to Conflict and Crisis,” which explains how the U.S. plans to prevent conflicts before they occur; and “Working Smarter,” which describes how the State Department plans to improve its planning procurement and personnel procedures. Among other reforms, the QDDR empowers Chiefs of Mission to be the “CEOs” of interagency work at their posts, creates an Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights to replace the existing Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, and emphasizes the importance of engaging a broad range of non-state actors, from NGOs to religious groups to the private sector.

In her remarks at a recent townhall meeting on the QDDR, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the report as “a sweeping effort that asks a simple question: How can we do better? How can we adapt to a world of rising powers, changing global architecture, evolving threats, and new opportunities? How can we look ahead, prepare for, and help shape the world of tomorrow?” Moving forward, the QDDR will serve as a “blueprint for how we can make the State Department and USAID more nimble, more effective, and more accountable.” Also, Secretary Clinton advocated for the principles outlined in the QDDR in an article in the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid | Comment »

Qatar: The Middle Path?

December 15th, 2010 by Jason

In a recent article for The Atlantic, Shadi Hamid uses Qatar’s successful World Cup 2022 bid as an avenue to discuss the course the small Gulf country has taken over the last 15 years. “The World Cup is just the latest success in an impressive run for the Qataris, who currently enjoy the world’s highest GDP per capita as well as its fastest growth rates. More importantly, the win is a vindication of Qatar’s odd, and often creative, foreign policy.” Hamid describes Qatari foreign policy as a “middle path” when compared to its other Arab neighbors, due to the country’s ties with both the U.S. and Iran. “Qatar’s independent and assertive policies defy easy characterization within any of the region’s camps,” but parallels can be made with Turkey, which has traditionally close ties to the U.S., but has recently cultivated ties with Syria, Hamas, and the “Arab public.”


Posted in Diplomacy, Qatar, Reform, US foreign policy | Comment »

Iran: Reform a “Long-Term Proposition”

December 14th, 2010 by Jason

Daniel Brumberg and Barry Blechman write in a new piece at the Middle East Channel that using “regime change” as a basis for an “effective U.S.-Iran policy” is unwise. Policy makers in the the U.S. are becoming impatient with the Obama administration’s attempts to negotiate a resolution to the nuclear issue and some are again turning to military action as a solution. “Political reform will eventually come to Iran, but in [a] manner far more prolonged and partial than that imagined by advocates of a full-scale democratic revolution.” The Green Movement was “battered by a repressive regime and deeply divided” after the 2009 elections, but “[t]his is not an impossible project…it will require a grass roots process of networking, communication and alliance building that will take years to unfold.” The authors argue that the best thing the U.S. can do to “promote political decompression” is to continue to engage with the Islamic Republic. “Sustained U.S.-Iranian engagement would undercut the ‘threat’ that ultra hardliners regularly invoke to legitimate their efforts to pummel or isolate their critics.”


Posted in Diplomacy, Iran, US foreign policy | Comment »

Egypt: How U.S. Military Aid Hurts Human Rights

December 10th, 2010 by Evan

Writing at the Huffington Post, Joscelyn Jurich, New York University professor and journalist, criticizes the U.S. approach to Egypt: “The Obama administration has consistently spoken in favor of democracy in Egypt, but has done less and less about it.”  According to Jurich, the White House has been remarkably soft on the Mubarak regime, at most expressing “disappointment” and in other cases failing to respond at all. Moreover, the Obama administration has maintained military funding to Egypt, disregarding how these funds strengthen Mubarak’s grip. Jurich concludes by calling for greater oversight of U.S. assistance to Egypt to ensure that the money is not used to fund human rights abuses.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Foreign Aid, Human Rights | Comment »

“Quiet Diplomacy Has Not Succeeded”

December 9th, 2010 by Jason

Writing at the Arab Reform Bulletin, POMED’s former executive director Andrew Albertson examines the Obama administration’s efforts towards promoting democracy in the Middle East. Albertson praises the administration for it’s “mulitlateral” approach and for “work[ing] with Congress to make the necessary investments in democracy assistance,” by increasing support for the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and the Millennium Challenge Corporation. However, the administration has also fallen short in several areas. The pursuit of human rights and reform through “disconnected bureaucratic pathways” has led to a “struggle to integrate serious, long-term thinking about development into interagency policy planning.” Also, the president’s rhetoric has “at times seemed disconnected from the bureaucratic machinery necessary to back up words with action.” Ultimately, the Obama administration needs to “demonstrate stronger linkages between its rhetoric on human rights and political reform on the one hand, and policy consequences on the other.”


Posted in Civil Society, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Multilateralism, Reform, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Calls for Spending Cuts

December 8th, 2010 by Evan

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), the new chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, pledged to make significant cuts to the State Department and to U.S. foreign operations funding in a statement laying out her agenda Wednesday. The Cable’s Josh Rogin reports that Ros-Lehtinen said “As Chairman of this Committee, I will work to restore fiscal discipline to foreign affairs, reform troubled programs and organizations, exercise vigorous oversight to identify waste, fraud, and abuse, and counter the threats posed to our nation by rogue states and violent extremists.” Rogin adds that while Ros-Lehtinen does not have direct control over spending, Kay Granger (R-TX), the incoming chairwoman of the House Appropriations State and Foreign Operations subcommittee, does and likely shares the Foreign Affairs Committee chairwoman’s views.

Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid | Comment »

Egypt: EMHRN Calls for Increased EU Criticism of Elections

December 6th, 2010 by Evan

The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Network (EMHRN) issued a statement calling on the European Union (EU) to “take a strong position on the parliamentary elections in Egypt.” Thus far, the EU’s response has been limited to a statement from Parliament President Jerzy Buzek criticizing the “violent and tense climate during elections.” EMHRN executive director Marc Schade-Poulsen said that the EU must do more: “Egypt has disrespected its association agreement with the EU according to which respect of human rights and democratic principles is an essential element. Egypt also disrespected the EU Egypt Action Plan agreement to cooperate on strengthening the participation of Egyptians in political life including participation in elections. […] It is important that the EU breaks its silence and expresses strong disapproval of the way in which the Egyptian authorities handled the election processes. The credibility of the EU’s foreign policy is at stake.”


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid | Comment »

Egypt: White House Misses Opportunity to Speak Out

December 6th, 2010 by Evan

The Washington Post criticized the Obama administration’s response to Egypt’s parliamentary election in a new editorial. Calling the statements from the State Department and the White House “timid and painstakingly balanced,” the author writes that the Administration missed an opportunity to make a forceful statement for democracy and human rights: “Other countries watching this exchange will marvel at Washington’s weakness. A nominal U.S. ally that receives $1.5 billion in annual aid makes a mockery of democratic rights — and is answered with mild and low-level expressions of regret and promises to do nothing other than ‘raise concerns where appropriate.’ The Obama administration appears to be thoroughly intimidated by Hosni Mubarak - when what it ought to be worried about is who or what will succeed him.”


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt | Comment »

Bahrain: Clinton Addresses Political Reform in the Gulf

December 6th, 2010 by Evan

During her recent trip to Bahrain for the Manama Dialogue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a number of statements on political reform in the Middle East. In her keynote address, Clinton emphasized that the “opportunity to participate in the decisions that shape one’s life and future, and the freedom to develop and express one’s point of view” are essential to maintaining security in the Gulf. In response to a question on America’s approach to democracy promotion, Clinton said “the United States remains committed to democratic process and to the democratic enterprise, because we believe that ultimately, it is the most stable form of government. But we know that different countries have taken different paths, and so we want to emphasize the broad array of actions that can lead to democratization. So elections are part of it, but it is not the only part, and too great an emphasis on it can lead to having one election and no more as people don’t fully invest themselves in what it takes to build the institutions of democracy.”

Earlier in the day, Clinton participated in a forum hosted by Bahrain TV. Matar Ibrahim Matar, an Al Wefaq party parliamentarian and alumnus of a Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) exchange program, asked Clinton about the tension between America’s commitment to promoting democracy and its strategic relationship with Bahrain. Clinton responded that she sees Bahrain as a glass “half full” country. “I think the changes that are happening in Bahrain are much greater than what I see in many other countries in the region and beyond.”

 


Posted in Bahrain, Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy | Comment »

Egypt: State Department Says Election’s Failed Egyptian People

December 2nd, 2010 by Evan

In response to questions about Egypt’s parliamentary elections, State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley emphasized that fraud and violence threaten the legitimacy of the outcome in the eyes of the Egyptian people: “The real issue here is the relationship between Egypt and its own people and we believe that the election fell short of the expectations that the Egyptian people have for what they want to see in terms of an open political process, a chance to play a more – or a significant role in the future of their country, a chance to participate more fully in a political process.” In a separate statement, Crowley once again called on the Egyptian government to “meet the desires of the Egyptian people.” Crowley, however, downplayed the possibility that the U.S. would use aid as leverage to motivate Egypt to reform.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid | Comment »

Egypt: Egypt’s Election a Critical Test for Obama’s Democracy Rhetoric

December 2nd, 2010 by Evan

In a new opinion piece, The Christian Science Monitor’s editorial board criticizes the Obama Administration for failing to make good on its rhetorical commitment to promoting democracy in Egypt. Instead, the White House has placed other short-term objectives ahead of encouraging long term stability through political reform. “If Obama wants repressed people to stand up for their freedom, he could do better at standing up for them,” the authors write.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid | Comment »

Egypt: EU Parliament Urges Reform Ahead of Presidential Election

November 30th, 2010 by Evan

Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, called on Egyptian authorities to “relax the conditions for political participation,” and allow “dissenting voices” in the press to be heard.  “A democratic Egypt is in the interests first and foremost of its citizens. For the EU a democratic Egypt is as important as a stable Egypt,” Buzek said, adding “if one claims that the time is not ripe for democracy, people might start thinking that the right time shall never arrive.”


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections | Comment »

Egypt: White House Says Egyptian Election Fell Short

November 30th, 2010 by Evan

The White House released a statement Tuesday expressing “disappointment” with the process of Egypt’s recent parliamentary election. National Security Council Spokesman Mike Hammer said that “numerous reported irregularities at the polls, the lack of international monitors and the many problems encountered by domestic monitors, and the restrictions on the basic freedoms of association, speech and press in the run-up to the elections are worrying.” Hammer also reiterated that the U.S. is committed to work with both the Egyptian government and civil society organizations to help the country achieve its “political, social, and economic aspirations.”


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections | Comment »

Egypt: U.S. “Dismayed” by Egyptian Election

November 30th, 2010 by Evan

On Monday, the U.S. State Department issued a statement criticizing Egypt’s parliamentary election. Widespread irregularities “call into question the fairness and transparency of the process,” State Department Spokesman P.J. Crowley said, citing “election-day interference and intimidation by security forces” and crackdowns on opposition parties and independent media prior to the vote. “Egyptians will only have full confidence in their elections when the government is able to address existing flaws, and ensure full and transparent access by independent civil society monitors and candidate representatives to all phases of the electoral process.”


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections | Comment »

The Decline of USAID

November 19th, 2010 by Evan

Jerry Hyman, President of the Hills Program on Governance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, recently published a new article describing the decline of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) over the past four administrations. Hyman describes the fundamental tension between foreign policy and development policy and how USAID has lost much of its independence, especially since development was enshrined as a pillar of U.S. national security policy during the second Bush Administration.


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Foreign Aid | Comment »

Egypt: U.S. “Has More to Gain” by Supporting Democracy

November 19th, 2010 by Anna

At World Politics Review, former Wall Street Journal foreign correspondent James Dorsey contends that it is in Washington’s long-term interests to promote democratic reform in Egypt, rather than “turn a blind eye to flagrant human-rights violations and measures that stymie democratic development.” He highlights the Egyptian regime’s “repression of the opposition, intimidation and control of the media, and electoral restrictions” all but ensure that the National Democratic Party (NDP) will remain in power. Dorsey calls fear that democracy promotion efforts would benefit Egypt’s Islamists “exaggerated,” adding that the Obama administration could shape the debate in Egypt prior to the parliamentary elections by publicly focusing on the matter. He concludes: “[a]ll in all, the United States has more to gain by nudging the Egyptian and Arab debate toward an embrace of democracy and human rights — and more to lose by maintaining a policy that so far has primarily identified Washington with repressive, corrupt regimes, significantly tarnishing its image.”


Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid | Comment »