Facebook Diplomacy

So, a friend of mine in a casual conversation mentioned to me that World Bank President Bob Zoellick had called for Facebook Diplomacy to address the economic crisis.  I almost jumped out of my seat with enthusiasm when I went online to track this down.  2 years ago, one could not have even mentioned Facebook in a room of diplomats or economists without getting laughed out of the room.  Today, Facebook is viewed as a viable and important tool to address some of the world’s most pressing challenges.  Bravo to Bob Zoellick for proving that established diplomats and economists do not have Facebook giggle syndrome.

Wanted, a Facebook to tackle global financial crisis: WB chief 
Malaysia Sun
Tuesday 7th October, 2008  
(IANS)

World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick has suggested formation of a core group comprising seven emerging powers, including India, joining the Group of Seven to deal with the global economic crisis.

‘The G-7 is not working. We need a better group for a different time,’ he said in a speech to the Peterson Institute for International Economics here Monday.

‘For financial and economic cooperation, we should consider a new Steering Group including Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the current G-7.’

Speaking ahead of the Annual Meetings of the World Bank Group, Zoellick said the new Steering Group should be more than just replacing the G7 with a fixed-number G14, as this would be using old world methods to remake the new.

The Steering Group should evolve to fit changing circumstances, including new emerging powers, while serving as a network for frequent interaction. ‘We need a Facebook for multilateral economic diplomacy,’ Zoellick said.

Warning about the effects of the financial crisis, he said: ‘The events of September could be a tipping point for many developing countries. A drop in exports, as well as capital inflow, will trigger a falloff in investments.’

‘Deceleration of growth and deteriorating financing conditions, combined with monetary tightening, will trigger business failures and possibly banking emergencies. Some countries will slip toward balance of payments crises.’

As is always the case, the most poor are the most defenceless,’ added the former US diplomat, trade negotiator and financial executive.

Referring to the upcoming US election, Zoellick said the new president will have to move beyond ‘the firefight of financial stabilisation’ to address the ‘economic aftermath’.

Whoever wins the White House should work with others in modernising the multilateral system as there needs to be a greater shared responsibility for the health and effective functioning of today’s global economy.

Turning to multilateral trade talks, Zoellick said the Doha round ‘has hit the rocks’ and countries should therefore consider trade facilitation as another way of cutting the costs of trade. ‘There are opportunities to cut costs of trade far in excess of those imposed by tariffs and other trade barriers,’ he said.

Zoellick said economic multilateralism needed to be redefined beyond its traditional focus on finance and trade. Energy, climate change, and stabilising fragile and post-conflict states were economic issues and not just part of the global dialogue on security and the environment.

The New Multilateralism must give an equal value to development as to international finance otherwise the world would remain an unstable place. But the aid system was not working well enough and it needed to move much more quickly and effectively to help those who were most vulnerable when crisis hits.

The World Bank Group also needs reform, said Zoellick announcing the creation of a High Level Commission under the leadership of former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo to consider modernizing the governance of the World Bank Group.

Describing world energy markets as ‘a mess’, Zoellick called for a ‘global bargain’ between energy producers and consumers. Both sides could share plans for expanding supplies, improving efficiency and lessening demand; assisting with energy for the poor; and considering how these policies related to carbon production and climate change policies.

‘There could be a common interest in managing a price range that reconciles interests while transitioning toward lower carbon growth strategies, a broader portfolio of supplies, and greater international security,’ Zoellick said.

Zoellick said the World Bank Group is developing an Energy for the Poor initiative with a number of donors to help the poorest countries meet energy needs in efficient and sustainable ways.

Fighting Extremism Online

I will keep hammering home this message that we need young Americans recognizing their value added online.  We need youth in their dorm rooms to be diplomats and Ambassadors for their country.  I talk about this in my recent interview with TownHall.com:

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Fighting Extremism Online

Posted by: Matt Lewis at 10:39 AM

The first-ever “digital natives” – that is how Children of Jihad author Jared Cohendescribed the generation currently coming of age, during an interview with me yesterday to promote the paperback release of his book.  Having grown up in a thoroughly wired world, today’s young people are turning to the internet — not merely using the internet for communication, but for expression, identity, recreation, and a host of other purposes. To many Americans, text messages and Facebook accounts may seem like just quirky features of Generation Y, but in the developing world, they are drastically reshaping the fabric of society.  Cohen should know; this young Jewish-American Rhodes scholar defied foreign governments and travelled to hostile Middle Eastern nations — in order to interview young people (some of whom were members of terrorist organizations) – for Children of Jihad.  In some nations, Cohen explains, new technology is helping awaken civil rights in places where they previously did not exist. In Egypt, for example, a national student strike was organized via Facebook. In Saudi Arabia, thousands of women anonymously signed a Facebook petition calling for their right to drive a car, and the largest anti-terrorist demonstration in Columbia’s history was touched off by a Facebook group targeting the communist F.A.R.C. rebels. To be sure, new communication methods are also being used by violent extremists, setting up the potential for an online battle of ideologies. Radical groups like Hezbollah not only release videos, but also target leisure activities such as video games. For instance, a “first-person shooter” game can easily be reprogrammed so that, as Cohen put it, “instead of shooting werewolves, you shoot Jews.” So, the question for America is how to handle the communication explosion. Should we try to restrict access to extremist activity or encourage even more development to ensure that oppressed people have the ability to organize? For Cohen, the answer is clear: never question new technology. “I don’t want to miss the internet like we missed that cassette tape,” he said. In the 1970s, America was hesitant to encourage cassette tapes for fear that they would be used to market Soviet ideology to the masses. “But, at the end of the day, what was the first instance where the cassette tape was used for political reasons?” he asked. The answer? “It was Ayatollah Khomeini orchestrating the Iranian Revolution in 1979 from Paris.”  Essentially, if we don’t figure out how to exploit technology, our enemies will. Now, there are certainly dangers for online freedom fighters. Bloggers have been arrested and women have died in honor killings for signing up on Facebook. However, Cohen noted that anonymous internet activism is far less likely to result in punishment than overt activism in the streets. As for the threat of online jihadis, he says, “they’re never going to win in that space,” and that he would “rather them be in that space than be in a quiet community, because at least online they’re doing it in front of everybody and can be watched.” He also noted that new developments make it easier for American youth to interact with their counterparts outside the free world. Such interaction could be essential in a forum where Western governments can no longer air their messages as easily as they could through Cold War organizations like Radio Free Europe. Instead, the web provides the capability for millions of young Americans to become what Cohen called “diplomats”, showing young Iranians or Saudis what it means to live under freedom – from the comfort of their keyboard. However, he was more hesitant to speculate on how the energies of America’s youth could be channeled in such a direction. He hinted that the subject might be discussed in a future book, but strongly indicated that he did not think such an undertaking could be effectively managed by the government. The jury may still be out regarding exactly how to use the internet to fight extremism. However, Cohen sternly warned that we cannot simply put the issue on the back burner, because our enemies make it a top priority. “I can guarantee you, and I know for a fact, that groups like Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, and others are already active in this forum,” he said, “I know that because, in my meetings with them and interviews with them, they told me. Hezbollah would talk to me about how they, you know, send Hezbollah guys into internet cafes to teach kid how to use internet on there terms.” Personally, I found that comment rather chilling, and it shows that ordinary Americans cannot simply assume that that someone else is fighting the war against online extremists. In a world of Facebook pages, Twitter accounts, and unlimited text messaging, we have the ability to fight terrorism from our kitchen tables, and shame on us if we don’t take advantage of that power.     Townhall’s Adam Brickley contributed to this post.