Just Security: An Alternative Foreign Policy Framework
by Foreign Policy in Focus
Published by Foreign Policy in Focus, the report “Just Security” proposes an alternative foreign policy framework for the United States, and by extension those countries which fall within its orbit. The report states:
“Current U.S. foreign policy is unjust and breeds insecurity for all. In seeking an alternative, we should not revive the failed policies of the past. Instead, we should chart a new relationship between the United States and the world.
Our common future faces daunting challenges. War, poverty, terrorism, loose nukes, and climate change make us all feel less secure than a decade ago. The Bush adminis tration’s foreign policy has brought U.S. popularity in the world to new lows. At home, it has generated widespread dissatisfaction across the political spectrum.
Such widespread public dissatisfaction offers an opportunity to transform the national conversation from the framework of fear that has prevailed since 9/11 to a broader response to global ills and injustices.
The growing public awareness of the climate crisis, the need to address the Middle East in a comprehensive manner, the wasteful extravagance of military spending, the continued threat of nuclear proliferation and nuclear use, and the corrosive effects of global inequality have revealed the inadequacies not only of current U.S. foreign policy but the Democratic Party’s 2006 “real security” doctrine as well.
With its emphasis on fighting wars, the Bush administration has insisted on focusing just on security. We must focus instead on a just security, because there can be no real security without justice. The United States should act as a global partner not a global boss. We must restore principles of fairness and equity into our international conduct.”
The full report and an executive summary are available from the Foreign Policy in Focuswebsite.