Foreign policy makers need Econ 101
Commentator Dan Drezner says the Obama administration needs to do a better job at understanding the connections between foreign affairs and economics.
Dan Drezner (Dan Drezner)
More on International, Commentaries
TEXT OF COMMENTARY
BOB MOON: President Obama is back home from his second major tour abroad. He huddled with fellow leaders at the G20 gathering in Europe and at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad. His performance on international issues -- and what some are calling a realignment of our foreign policy -- has gotten mixed reviews.
But one thing is clear in this global economy: The foreign policy team in the Obama administration needs to factor economics into nearly every decision. Commentator Dan Drezner says America used to have people who understood that connection, but not anymore.
DANIEL DREZNER: I heard a shocking confession at a recent conference about international relations. A high-profile commentator was asked about the dispute between the United States and European Union over fiscal stimulus. The pundit replied that he did not understand anything going on in the economy. It was not surprising that he failed to grasp the issue. What was shocking was that he said it out loud.
The dirty little secret inside the Beltway is that international economics either scares or bores America's foreign policy community. Although foreign affairs analysts understand on some level that economics is important, they see it as distinct from geopolitics. As a result, very few of them have the necessary experience or training to talk about international economic matters.
It was not always this way. During the Cold War, some of America's greatest foreign policy minds -- Dean Acheson, Walt Rostow, George Schultz or James Baker -- had substantive backgrounds in economics, finance or business. This allowed them to navigate the waters between high politics and high finance with a minimum of fuss.
More specialization has left fewer foreign policy professionals and commentators with the capacity to talk about economics. This knowledge divorce can have bad long-term effects on American diplomacy. During the Asian financial crisis, for example, State Department officials provided minimal input into the conditions attached to IMF rescue packages because few people at Foggy Bottom fully understood the problems. The result was a series of onerous and intrusive bargains that left a residue of resentment across the Pacific Rim.
Foreign policy wonks like to talk about "high politics" and "low politics," and they usually relegate economic diplomacy into the latter category. In these times, however, economics is foreign policy. The United States is embroiled in a transatlantic dispute over fiscal policy. China and Russia are proposing that the dollar be replaced as the world's reserve currency. India is upset over U.S. criticisms about offshore outsourcing. These disputes can bleed over into the meat and potatoes of international security.
America needs a continuing education program for its foreign policy community, and the first course they should take is Economics 101.
BOB MOON: Daniel Drezner is a professor of international politics at Tufts University. His most recent book is called "All Politics is Global."
Comments
Comment | Refresh
From DC, 07/15/2009
If the great recession has revealed anything, it's that the majority of economists don't understand economics. A relatively simple trade imbalance, fueled by a frenzy for over consumption, and shoved into a housing bubble, was ignored by the vast majority of economists. So how then can we expect foreign policy experts to understand economics, if economists themselves don't? Back to the basics fore everyone, though I do completely agree that foreign policy wonks and workers seem to rarely understand even the basic terminology in economics.
From Chicago, IL, 04/22/2009
Daniel Drezner made excellent points. Most of the politicians and policy advisors I encounter through my work are bored by the reality (and sometime intractibility) of economics. They are then ill-prepared and ill-informed about details which drive what is possible to do, and what is seemingly necessary. They propose simple (unworkable) solutions because they haven't immersed themselves in the individual human history and reality on the ground.
From Fort Pierce, FL, 04/22/2009
Just who was this "Commentator" and since when is a pundit a "policy-maker" from "inside the Beltway?" You are a commentator. Are you a policy-maker for the Obama administration with a less-than-keen grasp of economics? Or a pundit with a less-than-keen grasp of journalistic ethics?
From winston-salem, NC, 04/21/2009
Brilliant! Let's start requiring candidates for Congress to prove they took, and passed, Econ 101.
Post a Comment: Please be civil, brief and relevant.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. All comments are moderated. Marketplace reserves the right to edit any comments on this site and to read them on the air if they are extra-interesting. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting.
You must be 13 or over to submit information to American Public Media. The information entered into this form will not be used to send unsolicited email and will not be sold to a third party. For more information see Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.