The Failing State of Greece – NYTimes.com

Before we can fix Greece we have to understand the nature of the problem.  What is wrong with this nation-state?

What are we to make of Greece, which borrowed beyond its means and now has been pushed to the brink by its lenders? Is it the “problem child” of Europe, more corrupt and dysfunctional than its neighbors? Is it a special case, as the lenders are saying, hoping that after the write-down of Greek debt last week they won’t have to restructure other ailing euro zone countries’ large public debts? Or is it in fact a harbinger, a vision of how economic collapse transforms a country — or of what happens to democracy when banks become more powerful than political institutions?

While the mainstream political parties suffer under the weight of their own mismanagement and of the austerity they have pledged and reforms they have often struggled to enforce, unemployment and homelessness rise and the European Union inches toward transforming its institutions to get behind a currency battered by fast-moving market forces. Something profound and distressing is happening: the rapid dissolution of a democracy in plain sight. As I stood outside the Attikon last week, I asked myself: Where is the line between a weak state and a failed state?

via The Failing State of Greece – NYTimes.com.

Palestinian Bid to Join Unesco Could Imperil U.S. Funds – NYTimes.com

Update on the Palestinian chess moves toward some type of UN “membership”–which has some privileges as well as liabilities. As the story explains, this is playing out against the backdrop of a checkered relationship between Unesco and the U.S.:

The irony is that the Obama administration agrees and has been a strong supporter of Ms. Bokova. But lawyers at the State Department see no way around the laws, which date from 1990 and 1994 and provide no possibility of a presidential waiver.

American officials have criticized the Palestinian move, part of its bid for full membership in the United Nations, as “premature.” They fear it will lead to more conflict with Israel and further undermine the possibility of peace talks.

Despite American objections, Unesco’s 58-nation executive board approved the Palestinian application this month. The agency’s general assembly meets here starting Tuesday; the 193 member countries are scheduled to vote on Palestinian membership during the two-week meeting and are expected to approve it.

via Palestinian Bid to Join Unesco Could Imperil U.S. Funds – NYTimes.com.

Rothkopf on National Goals & Measures

We may likely become what we measure.  Rothkopf, a prolific foreign policy analyst writes in the NYT Week in Review that there is more to American life and happiness than income.  So then, why are GDP and the stock market our apparent primary indicators?

We outstrip the world by many measures but lag, sometimes shockingly, in many others. The metrics by which we choose to measure our success determine our priorities. Yet, some of the metrics we rate as most important, like G.D.P., stock indices or trade data, are so deeply flawed as to be irrelevant or worse, dangerous distractions. And at the same time, countries that could hardly hope to outperform the world in any category are far ahead of us when it comes to things that matter more to people. Choosing metrics to measure our society is not a value-free process. As a country we have consistently relied on indicators that keep us focused on the interests of business, financial institutions or the defense industry whereas equity, quality of life and even social mobility metrics are played down.

via G.D.P. Doesn’t Measure Happiness – NYTimes.com.

What makes a country great?  Many young Americans who have lived around the world are surprised to find that life is actually pretty great–even in places where the standard of living is much lower on a per capita basis.

How should we compare countries?  And what is the best measure for overall national happiness?

A New Approach to Multilateralism: Open Government

What is the new Open Government Partnership?

Eight countries (Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, United Kingdom, United States) have committed to the program and another thirty have been deemed eligible to participate. Interestingly, Russia is currently eligible while China is not. Those countries that participate conduct regular self-assessments and are reviewed as well by outside observers.

via The Multilateralist | FOREIGN POLICY.

 

Open Government from The Academy on Vimeo.

China’s Global Leadership Aspirations?

Video of a great debate from Davos with Richard Haas, Christine Lagarde, Anand Sharma, and Victor Chu:

Nik Gowing hosts the BBC World Debate on global leadership with leading figures from the United States, France, India and China.  He posed the question…”Does China aspire to primacy in global leadership?”

via BBC News – Davos 2011: BBC World Debate on Global Leadership.

U.S. Envoy Jon Huntsman Jr. in Beijing Charms and Unsettles – WSJ.com

The idea that diplomacy is staid, formal, and bureaucratic takes another hit in this WSJ piece on Jon Huntsman Jr.  (Two weeks ago Fareed Zakaria GPS discussed the ideal diplomat and how Richard Holbrooke didn’t hewe to type, either.)

Since taking over one of America’s top ambassadorial posts in 2009, the former Utah governor and possible Republican presidential candidate has made a habit of challenging diplomatic protocol to both charm and unsettle his hosts.

Over the past year, the father of seven children who used to drive a Harley-Davidson around Salt Lake City has, in fact, turned up on his bicycle to receive several official reprimands over issues including U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.

His unusual approach encapsulates the increasingly symbiotic, yet conflicted relationship between the world’s dominant power and its emerging rival.

via U.S. Envoy Jon Huntsman Jr. in Beijing Charms and Unsettles – WSJ.com.

Fareed Zakaria roundtable on “What Makes a Good Diplomat?”

A notable discussion with some useful insights on Richard Holbrooke’s career and how an “un-diplomatic” master of policy and process operated in Vietnam, Af-Pak, Washington, and the world.

via Video – Fareed Zakaria GPS –  CNN.com. (start at 22″ mark in the video feed.)

As Hanoi Marks 1,000th Birthday, Some Are Cynical – NYTimes.com

How fares Vietnam?  The answer is mixed:

For some people here, weary of propaganda and cynical about the country’s leaders, the gaudy and expensive celebrations were an occasion for discontent.

“I keep asking myself, a thousand years of what?” said the writer Vo Thi Hao in a widely quoted essay. “The whole country is flooded with flags, but people remain poor, and corruption is widespread along with many other social evils.”

Vietnam’s economy has grown significantly since postwar controls were loosened. In a country overview, the World Bank calls the country’s poverty reduction and economic achievements “one of the most spectacular success stories” in development.

Corruption is slowing this progress, which has also brought with it many of the social problems of an open, fluid society.

via As Hanoi Marks 1,000th Birthday, Some Are Cynical – NYTimes.com.

Should Luxembourg exist? | Gideon Rachman’s Blog | FT.com

Its not easy being a small state.

Sarko’s supporters were so affronted by being cheeked by a commissioner from tiny Luxembourg, that Philippe Marini, a Senator in Sarko’s ruling UMP party, told a French radio audience this week that the world might be better off without Luxembourg.

via Should Luxembourg exist? | Gideon Rachman’s Blog | FT.com.

French and German Ties Fray Over Greek Crisis – NYTimes.com

Trouble in the Eurozone as the big powers go natavist in the face of economic woes.  Maybe Soros is right about the Euro heading toward a breakup?

The French and the Germans, with different domestic constituencies and different attitudes toward economic policy, have a different view of how Europe and the euro zone, the 16 nations that have adopted the euro as their currency, should be managed. Germany, long the financier of the European Union, has made it clear that it will no longer pay for the mistakes and frauds of others.

France has put a much stronger emphasis on European unity and pride, trying to avoid involving multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund in the future of the euro, a prominent symbol of Europe’s challenge to the supremacy of the United States.

“Germany is no longer, as a matter of course or of principle, the motor, heart and savior of Europe,” said Constanze Stelzenmüller, a senior fellow of the German Marshall Fund in Berlin. “This isn’t the Europe we signed up for. It’s much larger, much poorer, and we have to take care of our own.”

via French and German Ties Fray Over Greek Crisis – NYTimes.com.