Hooray for Mark Malloch Brown. The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General has finally done what Democratic politicians should have long ago: he has stood up to the right's mindless UN-bashing. The Bush administration says it wants to see the institution reformed. And it badly needs to be -- for our sake -- because given America's international legitimacy crisis, and our Iraq-induced exhaustion, there is simply no way we will be able to address future threats through "coalitions of the willing." As I argue in my book, The Good Fight: Why Liberals -- and Only Liberals -- Can Win the War on Terror and Make America Great Again, we need international institutions that can set standards for how other countries govern themselves because in a globalized world, one country's political, financial and public health failures are often exported. Conservatives say they want to reform the UN -- and it certainly needs serious reform -- but by continually trashing it they create the impression that it is irredeemable, and therefore make reform less likely. In fact, as RAND's James Dobbins has pointed out, the UN's peacekeeping record is quite good -- better than America's, despite its lack of funds.
Democrats should not fear this debate. As a remarkable 2004 poll by the Project on International Policy Attitudes reveals, Americans are far more supportive of international institutions than people in Washington think they are. 76 percent favored US participation in the International Criminal Court, 71 percent favored participation in the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty, 87 percent supported participation in the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In fact, most respondents thought George W. Bush held these views too!
If Democrats stand up for what they believe, they can win this debate, and help empower the UN, which if done right, will empower America. Mark Malloch Brown has shown the way.
