UN & UAW, AVR & ACC (September 22, 2023)
Welcome to Home & Away. The obvious place to start is with the opening of the United Nations General Assembly (number 78 for those of you keeping count), which is about Away but takes place here at Home. Anyone doubting the latter point need only contend with the gridlock that descends on New York City streets every year at this time.
The session, like that of the G20 before it, accomplished little. We live in a world in which global institutions, many of which were created during or just after World War II, are increasingly unfit for purpose. It is not just that new challenges for which they were not designed have emerged; it is also that there are new realities not reflected in the make-up and distribution of authority in these organizations.
This is certainly true of the UN. The Security Council, the dominant venue of the organization, reflects the world of 75 years ago more than that of today. There is no other reason for the UK and France to be permanent, veto-wielding members. The absence of Japan, India, the EU, and others is also evidence that the UN has not kept up with changes in the balance and spread of power in all of its forms.
So why not just reform the Security Council? The cold truth is that any attempt to better align its membership with the world as it is would be blocked by one or more of the five permanent, veto-wielding members who would see the proposed change as disadvantageous to its interests.
Then there is the veto full stop. It is necessary as no major power (including the United States) would stay in the UN without it. But it also blocks the UN from playing much of a role when any of the major powers is at odds with the others, which was almost always the case during the Cold War and is increasingly the case now. This more than anything else explains the near irrelevance of the UN in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It also helps to explain why the leaders of China, Russia, France, and the UK (as well as India) could not be bothered to come to New York this week.
Biden’s UN Speech
One other thought as to what happened at the UN this week. President Biden delivered his speech on Tuesday morning. His most important message was to underscore his and the West’s determination to stay the course in Ukraine: “Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence. But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the [UN Charter] to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they’re protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? I’d respectfully suggest the answer is no. We have to stand up to this naked aggression today and deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.”
It was and is the right message, and a big improvement over the Biden administration’s initial depiction of the war as one of authoritarianism versus democracy, a framing all but guaranteed to fail to win over non-democracies. After all, democracies and non-democracies alike have an equal stake in not seeing their neighbors take a chunk of their territory. I only hope Biden will be proven right and Vladimir Putin wrong as to which side will benefit over time.
But otherwise the speech was a dud. Too often presidential addresses to the UN or the annual State of the Union become a laundry list of disparate initiatives put forward by various parts of the government and packaged in what Winston Churchill described as a themeless pudding. I would have argued for the President’s speech to have been about two or three issues at most (Ukraine, China, and climate change, for example) with other messages communicated by a senior staffer or in a separate paper.
Zelensky Appeals to the UN
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke at the UN, to the General Assembly Tuesday and the Security Council Wednesday, trying to generate greater international support for his country along with greater pressure on Russia. I doubt he will succeed, as the debate over the war is by now familiar and most governments seem to have made their choice of which if any side to support.
Ukraine was also topic one not just in New York but also in Washington, as President Zelensky returned to the capital. The problem Zelensky faces as he tries to secure long-term assistance is not just that Republican support is falling off but that funding for Ukraine may be a casualty of the inability of Congress to pass spending legislation.
Xi’s Missing Officials
Otherwise in the realm of Away it is impossible not to comment on what is going on in China. In just the past few months, China’s foreign minister disappeared, the senior leadership in charge of its nuclear forces was purged, Xi Jinping opted not to attend the G20 summit for the first time, and China’s defense minister may also have been removed. This suggests at least the possibility of a degree of political unrest or even struggle. Just as concerning is that few can have any confidence that they understand what is truly occurring and what this might mean for China’s direction.
Republican Brinksmanship
Here at Home the growing story is the looming shutdown of the government, which if it were to happen would take our political dysfunction to new heights (or depths). A small number of Republican radicals is holding the country hostage. They are not, contrary to how they were depicted in the New York Times, conservatives, as conservatives believe in institutions, order, and precedent, things these people do not value.
Ideally the Speaker would make common cause with the majority of other Republicans and the Democrats to fund the government. If it took Democrats supporting Kevin McCarthy’s staying on as Speaker in the face of a challenge from Republican radicals it might well be worth it, especially if he and Hakeem Jeffries could use this as an excuse (or opportunity) to hammer out something of a common legislative agenda. Alas, such a grand bargain or bargain of any sort appears remote for the foreseeable future.
On Strike
Lots of attention is also being devoted to the UAW strike. My own view is that the strike will come to be seen as something of an anachronism. As I understand it, the union is asking for a 40% increase in compensation that is really a 60% increase given the demand of reducing the workweek from five to four days. As former “Car Czar” Steve Rattner points out in a column, if all this in addition to other benefits were to be granted, it would make the automakers even less competitive against cars being produced in the less-unionized American south, in Mexico, or elsewhere in the world where labor costs are already considerably lower. And it would weaken the companies as they try to catch up in the EV race. And speaking of EVs, the added problem for unions and workers is that they require something on the order of 40% less labor than do cars dependent on internal combustion engines. All of which is to say that win or lose as to this strike it is difficult to see how the UAW and some of its members do not lose over time.
Automatic Voter Registration
Some good news at home comes from Pennsylvania, where Governor Josh Shapiro announced that henceforth residents getting or renewing their drivers license or an ID will automatically be registered to vote. Pennsylvania is the 24th state to adopt this practice, one that adds more citizens to the voter rolls. This is to be applauded, as we want to make it easy for any eligible citizen to vote, something fundamental to this or any democracy.
The Other ACC
More good news at Home, and nothing to do with the Atlantic Coast Conference. I’m talking about the American Climate Corps, a public service initiative just launched by the Biden administration. Akin in some ways to the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps and modeled on California’s Climate Action Corps, the ACC will train thousands of young Americans so that they can contribute to climate-friendly projects. This sort of public service effort, designed to bring Americans of different backgrounds together and break down divides between citizens and government, is right out of The Bill of Obligations.
Remembering Jim Hoge
Last, I want to end by paying tribute to Jim Hoge, who passed away this week, less than one month after the death of his brother Warren. Jim was a great publisher and editor in Chicago and New York and a staunch defender of the rights of journalists everywhere. He was also editor of Foreign Affairs for some 18 years, seven of which overlapped with my time as president of the Council on Foreign Relations, which is the magazine’s publisher.
Here is what I said when Jim stepped down in 2010. “It is impossible to exaggerate what Jim has accomplished in his tenure as editor. He led the magazine through a period of profound political and economic change in the country and the world. He did so with an editorial vision that made the magazine widely accessible, while maintaining its preeminent role within the American and international policy communities.” It was true then and remains so today.
Jim, together with his deputies Fareed Zakaria and Gideon Rose, made the magazine relevant and a must-read as well as a good read. The most famous piece of his tenure was arguably Samuel Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations,” which did much to combat the optimism about what to expect in the post-Cold War world. A number of other pieces published on his watch shaped policy and intellectual debates like no other journal. Here is a link to what was posted about Jim and his tenure on the Foreign Affairs site.
To this I would add that Jim was a class act. Yes, model-handsome as everyone points out, but also someone of model character and a model friend. He was respected here in the United States and around the world, both Home & Away. May his memory always be for a blessing.
As always, some links to click on. And feel free to share Home & Away.
Richard Haass in the news
Monday, September 18: MSNBC Morning Joe on UNGA (begins at 19:19; audio-only)
Wednesday, September 20: MSNBC Morning Joe on the Biden's address at the UN (begins at 33:38; audio-only)
Friday, September 22: MSNBC Morning Joe on Poland and the war in Ukraine (begins at 9:26; audio-only)
Podcasts
Check out The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens.