SOUNDING BOARD is an outlet for opinions on good and crazy things going on at home (wherever I may be). All are welcome. You are not expected to bring anything except your common sense & sense of humor.
'If the automobile had followed the same development cycle as the computer, a Rolls-Royce would today cost $100, get one million miles to the gallon, and explode once a year, killing everyone inside.'
-Robert X. Cringely (from geek wisdom)
SOUNDING BOARD
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
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Understanding terrorism in the Philippines in the context of "soft power"
In "The Paradox of American Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone",Joseph S. Nye, Jr. presents a framework that emphasizes "soft power" rather than hard power. Hard power in US context is military and economic power, while soft power is the ability to co-opt rather than coerce. It rests on the ability to shape the political agenda by influencing the preferences of others. It influences the mindset of people, gain more support and hence legitimizes government actions. He places great importance on trust in government, and argues that soft power can be eroded if people lose confidence in institutions.
To illustrate this further, he explained how power is distributed through a pattern that resembles a complex three-dimensional chess game. On the top board, military power is unipolar. US is the only remaining superpower. On the middle board, economic power is multipolar, with US competing in the world market with Europe, Japan, China and the rest of the economic players. The bottom board is the most complicated. It is where power is dispersed. Non-state actors participate on the bottom board and actions generate cross-border effects. Nye argues that developing foreign policy, which do not consider all three boards, e.g., unilateralism, is inadequate and bound to fail.
Applying Nye’s analytical framework in a national context, there are three levels by which the Arroyo government’s intervention in the area of counter-terrorism must take note of: (1) military strategy; (2) poverty alleviation; and (3) targeted communications and advocacy. On the top board, government’s military power is largely unipolar. Government usually makes decisions on its own in terms of military campaigns. The middle board is the economic board, and in here, government must cooperate with partners within the government (central Bank with Finance, for example), in the private sector, as well as multinational corporations. The bottom chessboard is where government is only one among the many competitors. This is the area where non-state actors (NGOs, student organizations, media, etc.) dominate and where interest groups battle for the control of development agenda. This is also where much of advocacy of terrorists are done. Because government does not wield too much power in this area, terrorists can gain public support and recruit possible members to their cause. Those who recommend only military campaign and poverty alleviation are clearly missing the bottom board. This is where non-state actors are strong, and hence, government needs to collaborate with other non-state actors to undermine the appeal of terrorists.
Trust in government is important in strengthening soft power. At the bottom board, it becomes more and more important for government institutions to be trusted by the people for doing something good for the community – bringing hope back to their lives. One way to do this is to involve the marginalized groups in economic and political reforms to give them voice. Exposing them to various channels of information and education can strengthen their participation in the community. Government must intervene to bridge the alienation and polarization of marginalized sectors. Hernando De Soto explains in an interview that the Shining path terrorists in Peru was defeated by their Institute of Liberty and Democracy not on the battlefield, but ideologically. They opened up their legal system to people’s participation and their entrepreneurship.
Peru’s experience of trust-building and encouraging participation also shows the potential to bring poverty alleviation and military campaign a step closer to being more effective in addressing terrorism. Building trust in and interaction with government further legitimizes military campaigns and makes poverty alleviation efforts more effective in reducing terrorist recruitment. In turn, effective military campaigns make poverty alleviation, and targeted communications and advocacy possible in conflict-ridden areas. In addition, poverty alleviation, in itself, makes targeted communications and advocacy more credible. Thus, these three approaches are mutually reinforcing. As in the three-dimensional chess board, the effectiveness of one approach depends on the ability to play “all three boards”.
The Philippine government's counter-terrorism effort could not be divorced from the reforms in the armed forces. Strengthening the trust of the people in the military is crucial in reducing recruitment appeal by the Abu Sayyaf. Military abuse is one of the reasons fueling the Moro insurgency (Gloria, G. and Vitug, M., 2000. Under the Crescent Moon). Improvement of the image of the armed forces also plays a crucial role in trust building, and therefore, must be done side-by-side with counter-terrorism efforts. Otherwise, people’s distrust of the armed forces may very well facilitate terrorists’ efforts in "countering counter-terrorism".
posted by Allan at 12:54 PM (GMT+8)
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