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When Obama’s Gone, Who Will Stand Up for Democracy? When Obama’s Gone, Who Will Stand Up for Democracy?
(about 3 hours later)
President Obama is devoting much of the last foreign trip of his term to reassuring European allies that Washington will maintain its security commitments under Donald Trump and stay true to its democratic principles. Before leaving Washington, he met with Mr. Trump and said the president-elect “expressed a great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships,” including “strong and robust NATO” partnerships.President Obama is devoting much of the last foreign trip of his term to reassuring European allies that Washington will maintain its security commitments under Donald Trump and stay true to its democratic principles. Before leaving Washington, he met with Mr. Trump and said the president-elect “expressed a great interest in maintaining our core strategic relationships,” including “strong and robust NATO” partnerships.
But that message won’t be credible unless and until the world hears it directly and unequivocally from Mr. Trump, who spent months on the campaign trail disparaging NATO and insisting that its members pay more for their own defense.But that message won’t be credible unless and until the world hears it directly and unequivocally from Mr. Trump, who spent months on the campaign trail disparaging NATO and insisting that its members pay more for their own defense.
Mr. Trump is not the only worry in Western democracies, which now seem threatened by authoritarian leaders on all sides. A photo circulating on social media shows that the leadership of the United Nations Security Council could soon be made up of: the autocratic Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China; the nationalist, far-right Marine Le Pen, if she wins the election in France next year; the ever-shifting and volatile Mr. Trump and Theresa May, the untested British prime minister.Mr. Trump is not the only worry in Western democracies, which now seem threatened by authoritarian leaders on all sides. A photo circulating on social media shows that the leadership of the United Nations Security Council could soon be made up of: the autocratic Vladimir Putin of Russia and Xi Jinping of China; the nationalist, far-right Marine Le Pen, if she wins the election in France next year; the ever-shifting and volatile Mr. Trump and Theresa May, the untested British prime minister.
The Western leaders in that group would be a far cry from those who, from the wreckage of World War II, built the trans-Atlantic community, promoted shared values of tolerance and human rights and created the network of institutions, like NATO, that have kept the peace and contributed to economic growth.The Western leaders in that group would be a far cry from those who, from the wreckage of World War II, built the trans-Atlantic community, promoted shared values of tolerance and human rights and created the network of institutions, like NATO, that have kept the peace and contributed to economic growth.
No wonder that Mr. Obama and others are not missing a chance to speak out about core democratic values. On his first overseas stop in Greece on Wednesday, Mr. Obama said: “Our democracies show that we are stronger than terrorists, fundamentalists and absolutists, who cannot tolerate difference ... who try to change people’s way of life through violence and want to make us to stray or shrink from our values.” No wonder that Mr. Obama and others are not missing a chance to speak out about core democratic values. On his first overseas stop in Greece on Wednesday, Mr. Obama said: “Our democracies show that we are stronger than terrorists, fundamentalists and absolutists, who cannot tolerate difference ... who try to change people’s way of life through violence.”
Such assurances are necessary because of the forces shaking the alliance and European unity — the migration to Europe of huge numbers of refugees fleeing Syria and other conflicts, a rise in xenophobia and nationalism, economic stagnation and Mr. Putin’s expansionist moves in Ukraine.Such assurances are necessary because of the forces shaking the alliance and European unity — the migration to Europe of huge numbers of refugees fleeing Syria and other conflicts, a rise in xenophobia and nationalism, economic stagnation and Mr. Putin’s expansionist moves in Ukraine.
Mr. Obama, in an essay co-written with Chancellor Angela Merkel for a German newspaper, implicitly rebutted the agenda laid out in Mr. Trump’s campaign with a plea for more trans-Atlantic cooperation on everything from security and climate change to globalization and the defense of a more inclusive and interdependent world. The joint essay not only underscored Mrs. Merkel’s role as a leader of Europe but suggested that she alone among present world leaders seems capable of succeeding Mr. Obama as standard-bearer for Western democracy. Mrs. Merkel is under increasing pressure at home, however, because of a populist tide and anti-immigrant sentiment, and is facing elections next year.Mr. Obama, in an essay co-written with Chancellor Angela Merkel for a German newspaper, implicitly rebutted the agenda laid out in Mr. Trump’s campaign with a plea for more trans-Atlantic cooperation on everything from security and climate change to globalization and the defense of a more inclusive and interdependent world. The joint essay not only underscored Mrs. Merkel’s role as a leader of Europe but suggested that she alone among present world leaders seems capable of succeeding Mr. Obama as standard-bearer for Western democracy. Mrs. Merkel is under increasing pressure at home, however, because of a populist tide and anti-immigrant sentiment, and is facing elections next year.