New Ideas for an Old Dream

By staff reporters LI YUAN & ZHANG HUI

THEY will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they learn war anymore.” This quote adorns a stone wall that lies outside the UN headquarters in New York and, though biblical in origin, expresses a universal desire for peace that was the fundamental inspiration for the creation of the UN.

Yet, in spite of the vastly diminished possibility of another world war, countries insecurities are on the increase. The constellation of international organizations are more and more becoming merely places to express opinions rather than mechanisms by which to address practical issues. This is particularly worrying in a globalized world where no country can count solely on itself to solve every conundrum. Change is needed, but what standards and principles should countries follow in international cooperation and in dealing with problems involving the interests of other countries?

Chinas first World Peace Forum is an attempt to find solutions to these problems. It put the economic topics that have recently dominated international discussions on the back burner and focused its attention on international security.

Consensus Views

Organized by Tsinghua University, this non-governmental forum was held in Beijing in late July, 2012 with attendees that included former state leaders, directors of international think tanks, and diplomats from all over the world. Yan Xuetong, dean of the Institute of Modern International Relations of Tsinghua University and head of preparations, said the forum aimed to establish a platform for both government policymakers and NGO and think tank experts to exchange opinions on international safety issues. He admitted that issues in economic development were important, but insisted that recent safety issues have become more critical, demand urgent solutions, and could spell deadly consequences for the world if aggravated.

The forum attracted political heavyweights such as Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Dominique De Villepin, former Prime Minster of France, Yukio Hatoyama, Japans former Prime Minister, Igor Sergeyevich Ivanov, former secretary of the Security Council of Russia, and Javier Solana, who has held such prominent posts as former Secretary General of NATO and EU High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy. They all gave keynote speeches and answered questions raised by media.

“At the beginning, we were really worried about whether any consensus would be reached given the fact of our participants came from more than 40 countries with different cultures and at different stages of development. I thought that all we could tell media at the end would be what kind of new and diversified opinions wed talked of. However, in reality weve found much common ground among our attendees,” Yan said at the final press conference for the forum.

Participants all agreed that globalization has had a huge influence on the world and brought much change. In this brand new world the international community needs to find new ways and methods to solve emerging problems for which old concepts and methods are no longer applicable.

With the radical changes happening in the world, we have entered an era of reform and transition. This new stage in the development of human society is seeing a series of new global trends and new problems, such as shifting world power, the global financial crisis, the emergence of non-traditional threats, increasing dangers to energy and food supplies and the eco-environment as well as a crisis in international law. All these have greatly complicated the international political landscape.

Attendees also discussed how globalization had made the world smaller and increased nations political and economic interdependence. Nowadays, one countrys problem can quickly affect its neighbors and even become a worldwide issue. It is thus difficult to distinguish between domestic and international matters. Participants all accepted that it is necessary to adopt new attitudes and approaches to contemporary international issues.

One example of such new attitudes and approaches is that some developing countries have wrought up international laws and agreements that allow them to step in when violent conflicts erupt in member countries and threaten regional security. In December, 2011, the newly-established 33-member Community of Latin America and Caribbean States passed the Statute of Procedures, which stipulates that member countries have the right to intervene with a military coup in other member countries. In March, 2011, the 22 members of the League of Arab States called on Western powers to establish a no-fly zone over Libya to support rebel forces. That November, in response to the violence used by the Syrian government to suppress domestic opposition, the Arab League revoked Syrias membership and introduced economic sanctions against the country the following month. China endorsed the decision to put sanctions on Libya made by the UN Security Council and also expressed its understanding of the Arab Leagues action to exclude Syria. These events indicate that a new international norm is taking shape that takes into account both the interference and lack of it with other countries internal affairs.

Participants also shared dissatisfaction with current international organizations and world security order and mechanisms. Whether the long-established United Nations or the relatively youthful G20, those international organizations have all received their share of criticism. It is both inevitable and urgent that the international community reforms existing international organizations in order to more efficiently deal with the worlds new security issues.

Alongside sovereign countries, international organizations are important players in the world arena. Since World War II, the makeup of the leadership of international organizations has adapted little to reflect changes in their member states. The permanent members of the UN Security Council, for example, have remained unchanged since its establishment back in 1946, the post of president of the World Bank has always been filled by a U.S. citizen, while the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has always been a European. As the old powers decline and new ones rise, the imbalance of rights and responsibilities of member countries has been exacerbat- ed in these international organizations.

Recently, in attempts to redress the inefficiency of some old international organizations, several new organizations have emerged in close succession. When the G8 failed to solve global economic issues, the G20 came into being. The AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) was established to facilitate economic cooperation in East Asia, followed by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) Plus One, ASEAN Plus Three and ASEAN Plus Eight.

However, in spite of the increasing number of international organizations and their accumulating declarations, agreements have rarely been followed by practical implementation. These international organizations are increasingly becoming talking shops instead of platforms from which to solve practical problems.As such, much of the talk at the World Peace Forum inevitably revolved around how to reform existing international organizations and what kind of international organizations are needed to solve new security issues.

new opinions, new Judgments

The forum also saw several new points of view and proposals. For example, it was opined that the G7, made up of developed countries, should be replaced by the E7, a bloc of seven emerging economies including Brazil, Mexico, India, Russia and Turkey. One participant suggested that East Asias position as a world center would decline due to its aging societies, and another expressed concern over the increasing number of security problems being caused by factors such as the double standards adopted by major powers.

New methods to cope with current emerging problems were also explored, such as developing a set of shared standards for countries to follow when dealing with crises that require cooperation and concerted efforts. The need for the generation gap, a new and increasing factor in social turmoil, to be taken into account in policy making was also highlighted. Some participants also emphasized the importance of support from the general public for anti-terrorism campaigns. They said that it would be hard to achieve success if we only rely on government forces.

Yan told the press that he had been warned that there was a danger of the forum degenerating into a talk show, but that these fears had been proved unwarranted as the two-day forum produced the substantial, new and in-depth ideas and proposals that had been its aim.“I didnt endorse all the opinions, but the forum did establish a platform for diverse new opinions and suggestions,”Yan said. “These new ideas will help people deepen their understanding of international security issues and pioneer new paths of academic studies in this field.”

the Rising Role of China

The participants at the forum also shared the view that with its rapid development China has become an increasingly important influence in the international community.

Shaukat Aziz, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, indicated in his speech that China has inspired many countries throughout history, and is growing into a world leader not only economically but also politically and diplomatically. However, he also pointed out that the shifts in regional power structures triggered by Chinas rise had also made some countries feel uneasy. When asked by China Today what experience he thought people could draw from China and Pakistan for cooperation and exchanges between countries with different social systems and ideologies, he said, “The social sys- tem in a country is naturally the decision of the country itself. China and Pakistan share the same values of peace, progress and prosperity and have common views on major international issues. It has been rare for the two countries to have different views. And when differences arise, we discuss them with one another. Thats the sign of true friendship.”

Former French Prime Minster Dominique De Villepin said, “France is an old friend of China. We owe lots of thanks to the foresight of General de Gaulle, who made it possible for the two countries to hold dialogues and establish long-term diplomatic relations. In the last 60 years, China has seen the most rapid development in the world and won status in the world. China has played an exceptionally important role in the international community. In a future, more harmonious world, China should find its new place and take on corresponding responsibilities. “

In an interview with China Today, Christian Lequesne, a professor with the Center for International Studies and Research of France, said, “Its a new world, not led by the West alone anymore. We have several emerging countries participating in global governance, like China, India and Brazil. We have to take their opinions into consideration. For that, we probably need reform in some international organizations to give more say to the new powers. Weve seen what has been done in IMF. We hope that good relations will exist between different powers in the world. Its a good thing for international security.”

Igor Ivanov, former secretary of the Security Council of Russia and president of Russian International Affairs Council, said in his speech, “Nowadays, many people hold the opinion that the international economy mainly relies on China and the United States, which are the only two world powers with impressive global clout. In fact, recently the definition of a world power has become more and more indefinite. Economic strength is no longer the only yardstick to measure progress, and cultural influence and the creativity of citizens are playing equally important roles. International leadership means responsibility, not the endowed power to impose ones will onto another country. There is a famous saying by Laozi, one of the most distinguished philosophers of ancient China, that a leader should play an exemplary role. This is still applicable to major powers in the 21st century. International powers should assume due responsibilities, set an example and let other member countries of the international community follow and imitate. Otherwise, you cannot find a way for the world to achieve stability.”

The World Peace Forum in Beijing was organized with the intention of bringing about change and innovation to achieve such stability. Though many at the forum agreed that the UN is flawed, participants had been brought together in the same spirit of lasting peace that accompanied the world bodys establishment. With good will and appropriate, practical actions and reform, it is everyones hope that such good intentions will one day come to fruition.