“Here is my first principle of foreign policy: good government at home.” So said William Gladstone, four-time Liberal Prime Minister, statesman and master rhetorician. He was speaking in November 1879 during the General Election campaign in Midlothian, but his words have special resonance in today’s globalised world of instant communication between individuals and global news networks, like our BBC World Service, or Russia Today and al Jazeera.
In setting out his first principle of foreign policy Gladstone made clear that it was the duty of government to create the conditions of wealth so to strengthen the State. However, he was also concerned about the importance of the “union and contentment” of the nation in achieving foreign policy objectives. It is becoming increasingly apparent that domestic political debates can impact how a nation is perceived by others and, consequently, its ability to prosecute its foreign policy.
Let us take the egregious example of Donald Trump’s campaign for the Republican Party’s nomination for President. Trump’s campaign has been highlighted by a series of controversial remarks about Mexicans, Muslims, and any other minority group that he can scapegoat in his populist diatribes that tap into a well of anger amongst some Americans. In July 2015 Trump raised eyebrows when he claimed that Mexican migrants were disproportionately to blame for violent criminality and sexual assaults in the US. Trump caused a minor diplomatic incident and lost business deals with five companies over his remarks.
However, it was Trump’s call for a complete ban of all Muslims entering the USA that brought international attention to the US primaries. Leaders from across the world came out to condemn his remarks, including key strategic allies of the West, such as Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. It is not only the Islamic world that has publically condemned Trump. The UK House of Commons even held a Westminster Hall debate on banning Donald Trump on entering the country; following a public petition signed by half a million people.
A Dubai based company stopped selling products from the Trump Home line of furniture at its chain of 190 lifestyle department stores in the Middle East, Africa and Pakistan. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was withering in his assessment of Trump: “A successful politician would not make such statement”. The US Presidential elections have always held great interest internationally because of America’s influence on the international system and global economy. However, such is the connectivity between individuals, NGOs and businesses across the world, the domestic is becoming international. Trump’s attempts to exploit the frustrations of ordinary Americans is having a direct impact on America’s ability to maintain its influence and achieve its diplomatic objectives.
Let us remember, Donald Trump is not an elected official or representative of the US government in any way. Nor is he, despite boasts of his huge wealth, a major stakeholder in the US’ vital national infrastructure. Yet he has angered Latin America, the Islamic world and the urban middle class across the globe; he has caused untold reputational damage to the US and fed into the narrative that many of America’s opponents would like to propagate. Trump’s candidacy is no longer a purely internal affair. His pronouncements are impacting on the wider Western world’s ability to counter the narrative of Islamic extremists that is finding currency in some parts of Middle Eastern society that distrust the US’ intention in the region. As UK Labour MP Jack Dromey put it in the recent debate on Trump, “Isis needs Donald Trump and Donald Trump need Isis”.
Max Boot, the eminent US security theorist, identified the problem when he wrote, “Trump doesn’t care about the damage he is doing to civil society, to the Republican Party, and to America’s international standing with his stupid, reprehensible ideas.” With the exemption those few countries that have complete control over their citizen’s access to information, the whole world can watch and read Trump’s ill-judged claims. The image the US is attempting to project to the world, of a tolerant, responsible and economically successful nation, is undermined by the way Trump has conducted himself during this election. Trump is doing real damage to US soft power at a time when the world is becoming both more complex and more connected. He is a Soft Power vacuum. Good government at home, and sensible, mature election discourse, is still the first principle of any successful foreign policy.
The Consulate 