2016 Postmortem

Uncle Joe

(58,362 posts) Thu Apr 28, 2016, 10:44 AM Apr 2016

Yes, Bernie Sanders has a foreign policy vision. Here are its three central ideas.

By Charli Carpenter

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On closer inspection, Sanders’s foreign policy views are clear, even though they defy conventional categories. In his debate with Clinton in New York, for example, Sanders articulated an alternative approach to climate change, the Middle East and multilateral alliances. He then traveled to Vatican City, where he gave a speech about global economic inequality. Before the Democratic presidential debate this month, his campaign responded to Clinton’s attack with its own letter of support signed by 20 foreign policy experts praising his foreign policy views.

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1. Interdependence between national security at home and security for those beyond our borders.

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Sanders’s remarks on Israel and Saudi Arabia similarly signal both a commitment to holding U.S. allies to international law and a different view of long-term U.S. interests in resolving conflicts. Whether it’s accurate or not, many people in Muslim-majority countries think that the United States has unfairly sided with Israel and ignored genuine Palestinian grievances. The resulting Muslim anger and anti-Americanism help groups such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State recruit members. Sanders thinks we can improve U.S. security and long-term interests if we change this perception by helping Palestinians and Israelis. And a majority of Americans agree with him.

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2. Global and local politics, and economic and political power, are deeply connected.

Sanders has made it clear that to project U.S. power abroad, the country must strengthen the moral foundations of that power with policies at home. This is precisely the approach to democracy promotion that realists prefer. Unlike realists, though, Sanders thinks beyond the state to emphasize cross-cutting threats to both domestic and global democratic institutions. He understands that soft power at home is threatened by militarism, income inequality and fear. He plans to demilitarize domestic law enforcement and global drug policy and to attend to the cross-border drivers and effects of corruption. Both positions point to his conviction that the national and the global are linked and that the key threats to America are transnational in nature.

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3. Examine the evidence when assessing threats.

When assessing national security threats, Sanders’s priority is evaluating data and evidence. That’s visible in his network of signatories and endorsers, which includes independent foreign policy experts, including numerous scholars, rather than Beltway insiders. Sanders is talking to the kinds of people whom President George W. Bush ignored when his administration invaded Iraq after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks despite the absence of credible evidence that the nation was a threat to our own. For instance, in an election cycle when many Americans believe — quite incorrectly — that terrorism is the No. 1 threat to the nation, Sanders is not afraid to instead talk frankly about climate change as the most fundamental national security threat of our age. The Pentagon agrees.

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No matter who takes office, Sanders is making room for a different kind of foreign policy agenda and vision of what it means to pursue American interests abroad.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/04/27/yes-bernie-sanders-has-a-foreign-policy-vision-here-are-its-three-central-ideas/

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