The Silent Violence Behind "Smart Power" in U.S. Foreign Policy

Zadie Smith once made a rather interesting observation about Obama, in that he has learned over the years how to talk and act to different people in different ways, so as to charm them over: “Obama can do young Jewish male, black old lady from the South Side, white woman from Kansas, Kenyan elders, white Harvard nerds, black Columbia nerds, activist women, churchmen, security guards, bank tellers.”

In fact, when Obama spoke to Al-Arabiya host Hisham Melhem, he used the same trick by talking about his Muslim relatives, his brief sojourn in a Muslim country ( Indonesia ), and the need for respect towards those peoples. In other words, he tailored his speech and acted accordingly to a different audience, as he had done many times before to other peoples on different occasions. He used the same trick again, when he was in Turkey and later in Egypt earlier this year.

But what Smith did not understand is that this important mastery of acting and speaking to arouse the emotions of others is not unique to Obama. In fact, it is one of the most important skills that a “professional politician” in a liberal democracy has to master. Whoever does not master this will not go very far in the liberal democratic world of power competition. In fact, Bill Clinton, for instance, is well known for being gifted in knowing how to tailor his speeches and manners to different peoples on different occasions. Does anyone still remember that Clinton was regarded as "sleazy" and "sly" by his critics?

People who indulge in charming others like that (as "professional politicians") often have "sleazy" characters, albeit in different degrees, and cannot be trusted. This sleaziness applies to Obama too --, and his lack of good knowledge, deep experience, and great vision of world affairs does not make life easier for his administration in the next few years. And the problem is further compounded when all those in his inner circle belong to the same old establishment which has defined U.S. foreign policy for so long.

One will see a lot of déjà-vu actions in U.S. foreign policy during the Obama administration, just as the world has seen them since the last century or before, albeit with a new language and in a different way. This means that the U.S. will continue to pursue its own hegemonic interests, with its allies when possible, and at the expense of others when necessary, even if this is to mean “killing to victory,” whenever needed, as the end justifies the means, so its ideology goes. This is true, even though each new administration has its own distinctive way to govern, and no two consecutive administrations are exactly alike.

But this continuation of the quest for U.S. hegemony is no longer realistic at this time of history, as it is slowly but steadily confronting a new global reality, or the dawn of what I originally called “the post-post-Cold War era,” for a new world order that will remake history in the future that the world has never known, as already detailedly analyzed in my recent book titled "Beyond the World of Titans, and the Remaking of World Order" (2007).

And the new slogan of "smart power" is symbolic (which has its vital political function to fulfill), often in a new language for each change of the guard, to the pleasure of innocent political ears, as a fundamental landmark of the human political condition. If history remembers Bush’s newspeak of “compassionate conservatism” and “humble” foreign policy, it will likewise not forget Obama’s version of “smart power” and “mutual respect.”

But this is not the end of the matter yet. Stay tuned for more euphoric slogans to appear in the months and years to come -- with or without Obama in power.

About the Author: Dr. Peter Baofu is the author of 25 books in many different fields (with several new ones to appear in late 2009). His recent books on world affairs include “Beyond the World of Titans, and the Remaking of World Order” (2007), “The Rise of Authoritarian Liberal Democracy” (2007), the 2 volumes of “Beyond Democracy to Post-Democracy” (2005), “Beyond Capitalism to Post-Capitalism” (2004), “The Future of Capitalism and Democracy” (2002), and the 2 volumes of “The Future of Human Civilization” (2000).