Bonanno Says U. S. Foreign Policy Is Headed For Change
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Alessandro Bonanno |
No matter which of the three likely presidential candidates
is elected this fall, United States foreign policy is almost
certainly in for a big change.
This is according to Alessandro Bonanno, professor and chair
of the sociology department at Sam Houston State University.
Bonanno, who has taught at Sam Houston State since 1996, specializes
in economy and society, social theory and sociology of agriculture
and food. He was recently awarded the Southwestern Sociological
Association's 2008 Distinguished Paper Award.
The paper, of which he was lead author along with Robert J.
Antonio of the University of Kansas, was entitled "Globalization
and the Contradictions of the Reorganization of Time and Space."
It discusses the way globalization, or the spread of a U.
S. backed capitalistic economy model throughout the world,
has changed over the years.
Since the terror attacks of 9/11/01, "geopolitics and
security issues took over center stage in discourses about
globalization," Bonanno wrote in the paper. "Departing
from views expressed by other international political entities
(most notably many European and Southern countries), the Bush
Administration, supported by a few allies, introduced a new
strategy about controlling and regulating globalization. It
was based on unilateralism."
While the Bush administration attempted to achieve international
support, it was so convinced that it was right, and that its
policies would benefit everyone internationally, that it did
not work hard enough, or was otherwise unable, to achieve
international support, according to Bonanno.
"Because American interests and views are considered
beneficial to the rest of the world," he wrote in the
paper, "the Bush Administration believes that the 'civilized
world' will ultimately follow the U. S. lead when it makes
decisions unilaterally."
A bit more diplomacy and less heavy-handedness would have
worked better, Bonanno said.
"The growth of capitalism under globalization requires
advanced forms of interdependence and coordination,"
said Bonanno. "These new forms cannot be achieved through
unilateralism, but require equally advanced forms of cooperation
and coordination."
Terrorism is extremely dangerous to all forms of stable socio-economic
development, he said. As such, it is a global problem.
"Because it is a global problem, it requires to be addressed
by a broader coalition of forces," he said. "In
other words, and as events demonstrated, unilateralism is
not an effective solution."
He said that the three candidates apparently still in the
running for president seem to recognize the need for a new
approach.
"While their strategies on the war on terrorism and on
the problem of globalization are quite different, there is
a general understanding that the U. S. should seek broader
support on its international policy," he said. "Accordingly,
it seems that the problems that I point out in my paper would
be of significant importance during the new presidency."
Bonanno is the current president (2004-2008) of the International
Rural Sociological Association and director of the SHSU field
school in Italy. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky,
and served on the faculties of European and Latin American universities.
—END—
SHSU Media Contact: Frank
Krystyniak
March 18, 2008
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