What is the best theoretical framework for analyzing U.S', E.U. and China's foreign policy towards...

7/31/2019 What is the best theoretical framework for analyzing U.S', E.U. and China's foreign policy towards the MENA regio

1/9

In your opinion, what is the best theoretical framework for understanding thedifferent orientations of the US, European Union and China to the MENA region?

To be able to deduce the type of theoretical framework that colors policies of the United

States, European Union and China towards the MENA region, we must understand their

governmental structures, actions and foreign policies. In the case of the US and the EU, whose

governments and structures are transparent and who publish their policies, agreements, official

documents and legislation online it is not difficult to deduce the ideology that guides their

decisions.

China

Analyzing Chinas policy towards the MENA or any region can be complicated andambiguous for two reasons. Firstly, China doesnt have a transparent governing system. There

are no publications such as the US National Security Strategy or EUs foreign and security

policy papers, rather China uses white papers, speeches, and articles as the principal mechanisms

to communicate policy and strategy publicly, making it difficult to understand any of its

policies.1

Second, it is hard to describe Chinas model of government. The CIA fact book and most

authors describe it as a communist country, yet if we follow Marxist-Leninist communist

ideology, China is not a communist state because it is not a state of the working class.2 Why most

people describe it as such, is because there is a one party system governed by the Communist

party. Also, if we take in to account the reforms started in 1978 under the leadership of DengXiaoping, when China started with the bold and deepening integration into global markets based

on the free flow of goods, capital, technology, information, and people, we can almost classify it

as a capitalist country.3 Therefore, it seems that China is only communist in appearance, waving

red flags and using communistic terminology, but in truth it is something new and different. That

is why I found it difficult to find a perfect mold for Chinas policy toward the MENA region.

In Chinas actions and policies I see an expansionism ideology with a goal to promote

economic growth. I am considering expansion not in terms of territorial expansion, but

expansion to promote the development of a fast growing economy. I do not argue that this is just

the beginning for Chinas policy towards the MENA region, because the trade agreements they

are making in the MENA region show that China is more ambitious and creative then the US, but

1

1 US Office of the Secretary of Defense, A report to Congress: Military and Security developments involving thePeoples Republic of China, 2010, Section 1246, page 22

2 Lenin, State and Revolution, chapter 5.4

3 Jon B. Alterman and John W. Garver, The Vital triangle: China, The United States and The Middle East, TheCSIS Press, Washington, D.C., 2008, page 28


2/9

also the different influences on its strategic policies show a possible shift towards the

imperialistic ideologies.

As a fast growing economy, owing its growth to the United States who, also governed by

their economic expansion decided to relocate their industry to areas of cheap labour force, China

wants to continue on this route of economic growth but in order to do so, it needs oil resources to

sustain the industry that is producing this growth. China is the third country in the world in oilconsumption but the fifth in oil production.4 According to the resource depletion theories as a

negative effect of economic growth, China is already experiencing oil resource depletion, where

its continental oil resources are getting mature but also the access to its offshore sources are tied

to territorial disputes with Japan. There is one other aspect for demand for oil. Global resource

shortages, price shocks or restricted access to resources could affect Chinas strategic outlook

and behavior, and undermine the foundation of the Communist partys popular legitimacy.5 The

need for resources, to power the continuing economic growth and to sustain the communist party

in power in the process, is considerable.

Since the MENA region is the richest in the world in oil resources that are easier and

cheaper to extract then in the other regions, it is obvious that China wants to establish successfultrading relationships. Regrettably, the MENA region is not a problem free zone for China. On

one hand, it is a constant conflict zone and on the other, the US have great interests and

influences in the region making it diplomatically challenging for China to promote their interests

and influence. Chinese experts have advocated the diversification in oil sources as soon as

possible, avoiding reliance on Middle East for oil and gas.6 Nevertheless, China is investing and

trading with Syria, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Oman, Sudan,

Yemen, Libya, Algeria, Kuwait, UAE and probably otherMENA countries, because it is in their

best interest to trade with countries that produce the best product, where extraction is the

cheapest and price the lowest.

It is also reasonable to assume that China will protect its investment in the Middle East bysecuring the trade route. The string or pearls is the name for the Chinese sea lines of

communication that run through the strategic choke points: Strait of Mandab, Strait of Malacca,

Strait of Hormuz and Strait of Lombok as well as other strategic naval interest such as Pakistan,

Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Maldives and Somalia. Some analysts believe that Chinese efforts to

develop a number of ports from the Middle East to the Indian Ocean, will ultimately be used to

enhance Chinas ability to defend its access to oil. 7 These Chinese efforts that go beyond

protecting their investments, can be seen as the beginning of future imperialistic tendencies.

When trading in the MENA region, China presents itself as a non colonial power, and as

being a developing country as well. The self image that China wants to promote in the MENA

2

4 CIA The WorldFact book, accessed on 27.06.2012

5 Report, Supra, note 1, at 15

6 Xuewen, Qian, Chinas energy cooperation with Middle-East Oil-producing countries, Chinese educationalministry program: Chinas national interest in the Middle East, 2009, page 69

7 Kaplan, Robert, Pakistans fatal shore, Atlantic Monthly, 2009


3/9

region is a direct influence of Deng Xiaopings traditional guidance: observe calmly, secure our

position, cope with affairs calmly, hide our capabilities and bide our time; be good at maintaining

a low profile; and newer claim leadership.8 This is just one of many influences on Chinas

strategy. There is one that asserts that China should actively cooperate with regional actors and

the US to increase Chinas influence and to assure neighbors and more distant great powers that

Chinas rise will not pose a destabilizing threat to their security.9 Among these two strategies, Isee the influence of the first one when dealing with the MENA region. They dont claim to be

leaders, they observe calmly by not meddling in internal affairs, they are securing their position,

but for what are they biding their time remains unknown and a little frightening.

As I mentioned, when they invest in a country they stay out of their internal affairs and

have a hands off approach which doesnt involve spreading democratic values which is appealing

to many MENA states that feel dissatisfied with US and EU policies. Abdulaziz Sager of the

Gulf Research Center noted, the chief advantage of Chinas role in the region is its lack of

political baggage.10 Beyond opposition to U.S. democracy efforts is an appreciation of Chinas

avowed disinterest in Arab reform. Arab regimes and intellectuals alike hold China as a model- itis a lucrative trading partner and objective observer in international affairs, but absent in their

domestic politics. China makes no claims on Arab regimes as to their treatment of the opposition,

human rights, or elections, nor is it in the Chinas interest ever to do so.

To show an example of Chinese creativity in trade policies, I will mention their $3.5

billion investment in the Aynak Copper field in Logar province in 2009. The Aynak Copper Mine

represents the worlds largest untapped copper deposit estimated to be worth up to $88B which is

more than double Afghanistans gross domestic product.11 It is the largest foreign investment in

this countrys history- 3.5 billion dollars for a 30 year lease of the mine.12 Along with producing

thousands of jobs in the mine, Chinese are also investing in local development. They have

committed to building a 400 megawatt plant to support the mine, and water development andpurification, all of which will be available to the local population. The Company, also known as

M.C.C., will dig a new coal mine to feed the plants generators. It will build a smelter to refine

copper ore, and a railroad to carry coal to the power plant and copper back to China. M.C.C. will

also build schools, roads, even mosques for the Afghans. Similar agreements are being inked

from Africa through the Middle East to Southeast Asia as China attempts to secure critical

equities around the world. These actions demonstrate that Beijing is becoming more strategically

3

8 Report Supra, note 1, at 27

9Ibid., at 27

10 Abdulaziz Sager, Saudi-Chinese relations: Energy first, but not last, Arab News, January 23, 2006, seen in theVital triangle

11 Kleponis, Greg, Chinas role in the stabilization of Afghanistan, Strategic studies institute, July 8 2009, page 2

12Ibid, same page


4/9

conscious in its global engagement and is more willing to push its interests in competition with

those of the United States.13

With these type of trading policies, where the Chinese also invest in local development or

do not interfere in their internal affairs, they are also ensuring their investments but in a contrast

way to that of the US and EU. Instead of pushing for human rights and democracy and forcingthe regime changes with military power, the Chinese present themselves as a developing country

by whom the Middle East, shouldnt feel threatened, because not only they wont interfere in

what ever they are doing, they will support it, and invest heavily in their country. This strategy

would seem perfect if only there wasnt a recent historic example, where a western power was

protecting the Middle East from evil communists, protecting the authoritarian regimes, selling

them weapons and trading oil with their companies. These historic examples are here to teach us

to be weary of foreign powers and their lucrative agreements.

European Union

The politics of European Union towards the MENA region can be best described through

the theoretical frameworks of neocolonialism and neoliberalism combined.

Existing and past international economic arrangements created by former colonial powers

of the European Union were and are used to maintain control of their former colonies and

dependencies in the MENA region after the colonial independence movements of the post World

War II period. The perfect mechanism that the EU is using to establish the neocolonial policies in

the MENA region is neoliberalism. A classical definition of neocolonialism is given in Kwame

Nkrumahs, the man who coined the phrase, Neo-Colonialism, the Last Stage of

Imperialism (1965):

The result of neocolonialism is that foreign capital is used for the exploitation rather

than for the development of the less developed parts of the world. Investment under

neocolonialism increases rather than decreases the gap between the rich and the poor

countries of the world. The struggle against neocolonialism is not aimed at excluding

the capital of the developed world from operating in less developed countries. It is

aimed at preventing the financial power of the developed countries being used in

such a way as to impoverish the less developed.14

This definition perfectly describes the function of the Union for the Mediterranean,

which is the main platform for cooperation between the EU and the MENA region. The main

actors who push the implementation of neoliberalism are the states through the international

4

13 Brautigam, Debora, The Dragons gift, the real story of China in Africa, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press,January 2010, page 28

14 Nkrumah, Kwame, Neocolonialism, The last stage of imperialism, London, 1965, Introduction


5/9

financial institutions and with the help of multinational corporations. The main financial

institutions involved in this process are IMF, World Bank, World Trade Organization and

UNCTAD who operate on an international level, OECD and EBRD who operate in Europe,

African development bank and some US institutions such as USAID and OAS. According to the

Union for the Mediterranean the principal aims of the partnership are:

the enhancement of economic and financial cooperation and the creation of an area

of shared prosperity through sustainable and balanced socio-economic development.

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership strives to achieve these goals by fostering

economic transition in three main important ways: favoring the economic conditions

of growth, reforming key sectors, establishing a free trade area by 2010.15

The phrase reforming key sectors actually means creating conditions in the MENA

region for successful implementation of neoliberal ideas. These conditions consist of:

establishing an internal network for promotion and support of neoliberal values and ideas inside

every country, so that when the international organizations propose to change something in acountry it doesnt feel or look like its coming from abroad, instead it was the will of the people.

The network establishment is achieved through NGOs that the international organizations are

forming inside of a country, who with the money sent to them, promote these ideas. After the

people have realized by themselves that neoliberalism is something every country should aspire

to, the international institutions propose that the country changes a few things. This is when

favoring the economic conditions of growth is implemented. In the MENA region, the key

sector of change was the agriculture. Firstly, they have privatized the land and promoted private

instead of collective ownership. They have also promoted private-public partnerships (PPP).

Secondly, they have convinced the people that they should shift to export oriented agriculture, or

as the World Bank explains, countries shouldnt produce food to feed themselves, they shouldexport it and earn foreign currencies with which they can buy food to feed themselves. This

policy made the MENA region the most food import dependent region of the world. The best

agricultural land was dominated by food crops cultivated for exports, while the crops cultivated

for domestic consumption were relocated to regions with poor soil conditions.16 When global

prices for export crops plummeted due to over-production, resulting from too many farmers

being pushed, by the WTO, to produce the same crops, many people found that the income they

were earning from their export crops proved insufficient to purchase the imported food promoted

by the EU and the US. The reason for high prices of food is that the foreign governments are

subsidizing their farmers while the World Bank and IMF are forbidding the MENA governments,

through conditions on their loans, to do the same. These policies caused starvation of the rural

population in the MENA region which led to riots, in Egypt, for example, the riots lasted from

1980 all the way to 2000.

Establishing a free trade area promotes the internalization of capital and it increases the

foreign direct investment. It also connects these countries with the world market in such a way,

5

15 Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Economic and Financial Partnership section

16 Leech, Garry, Capitalism and the art of Dispossession, 2012


6/9

that when there is a spike in the price of wheat it affects the poor populations of MENA countries

the most. This is the area, where the multinational cooperations, as one of the key actors, come in

to play. With the privatization of agricultural land and policies of mechanization and irrigation,

there was a concentration of landownership that led to formation of classes and concentration of

wealth in the hands of the few, usually the leaders and monarchs that were signing these

agreements, but also to the hands of previous merchant classes which now became the elite. Theelite powers are the ones forming multinational corporations together with private companies

from Europe and the United States. They are investing in the oil industries and profiting from

these neoliberal structures.

Qui bono? Why do these policies benefit the EU? The advantages for the EU and US as

well are numerous and very lucrative.

Firstly, the changes made in the agricultural policies have led to increase of debt levels of

MENA countries. Debt is then used as a weapon by the EU and the US as well, to force more

loans and policies that do not benefit the people of the MENA region at all. The cancelation of

debt is a favorite weapon of these actors, where in exchange they would ask for shares in certainprivate sectors or support in their military campaigns against the very people of the MENA

region.

Secondly, these neoliberal policies have a political effect as well. They weaken the

traditionalist left and Arab nationalist parties which caused a shift to political Islam. They are

then using these political changes to their own gain.

Thirdly, with their privatization policies, doing business indexof the WTO,

popularization of private-public partnerships and the restructuring of tax regimes with the

introduction of VAT, they have created a perfect atmosphere for multinational corporations to

operate in. With shares in the oil industry, these companies are exploiting the region and creating

massive profits. Some of the profits stay in the region in the hands of the elite, but most of it goesto EU and the US.

All these plans of the European Union, United States and the Financial Institutions, the

deception and effort that goes in to creating policies that sound like providing help and

establishing partnerships are here for one thing only- creating profits for the main actors and

sustaining the capitalist systems of the developed world through exploitation of MENA, but also

other regions of the world.

The United States

The best theoretical approach to United States orientation toward the MENA region wouldbe a combination of neoliberal and neoconservative ideas, in my opinion. I will not go in to

details about the neoliberal tendencies of the US because I have already explained how these

ideas have influenced the region. The neoliberal policies of the US have different names, like the

Washington Consensus, but they use the same financial organizations, both bilateral and

international, to promote these policies and more importantly their effects and benefits are the

same as the ones of the EU.

6


7/9

As for neoconservatism, it is a combination of political ideologies on its own. It consist of

conservatism, political individualism and an endorsement of the free markets which makes it

compatible with neoliberalism.17 The neoconservatist tradition that I think has the most influence

in US foreign policy, is the one of the students of Leo Strauss. According to his belief, the human

nature is inherently evil. The job of a leader is maintaing order because the world is an awful

place. The leader should also manipulate with fear in order to gain power and use deceptionwhich is necessary because people are useless- they couldnt handle the truth, they would panic.

Strauss had other Machiavellian tools in his belt, like the use of religion as a tool in order to get

people to behave. According to neoconservatist ideology, war is a good thing- it binds people

together and it puts a face to evil. Therefore leaders should constantly use the threat of war to

maintain power. Some of his students were Paul Wolfowitz, who was a US Deputy Secretary of

Defense in the George W. Bushs administration and was also a president of the World Bank,

Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

Neoconservatism was the most evident in George W. Bushs administration after

September 11, when he coined the term axis of evil, describing Iraq, Iran and North Korea as

demonic powers that present a growing threat to the US. At the root of his high rhetorics was theneoconservative dogma. What followed was an illegal and illegitimate invasion of Iraq and the

creation of Bush Doctrine with the notion of preventive war. The preemptive war is a particularly

dangerous concept because it can be further used as a precedent in international law. The real

reason for invading Iraq was to gain a foothold in the strategically important part of the region

and to establish the first secure US military bases in a client state at the heart of the worlds

major energy resources.18 Zbigniew Brzezinski, political analyst, geostrategist and statesman,

pointed out that Americas control over the Middle East gives it indirect but politically critical

leverage on the European and Asian economies that are also dependent on energy exports from

the region.19 The persistency of these ideas, I see even in the Obamas administration, that

continues the demonization of the people from the Middle East. Also the prolonged presence ofUS troops in the Middle East shows me that even this so called democratic administration needs

the Middle East to remain its usual suspect. Furthermore, the MENA states will remain the

playground for US neoliberal ambitions and also a resource to fuel its capitalist economy.

7

17Definition by Encyclopedia Britannica

18 Chomsky, Noah, Its Imperialism, Stupid!, Khaleej Times, June 1, 2005

19 National Interest Journal, 2003


8/9

Bibliography

Abdulaziz Sager , Saudi-Chinese Relations: Energy first, but Not Last, Arab News, January 23,

2006, http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0 &article=76692&d=23&m=1&y=2006,

seen in the Vital Triangle

Alterman, B. Jon, and John W. Garver, The Vital triangle: China, The United States and The

Middle East, The CSIS Press, Washington, D.C., 2008, page 28

Annual Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the Peoples Republic of

China, Section 1246 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, Public

Law 111-84

Chomsky, Noam, Understanding the Bush Doctrine,Information Clearing House, October 2.

2004, http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20041002.htm, accessed on 29.06.2012.

Chomsky, Noah, Its Imperialism, Stupid, Khaleej Times, June 2005, accessed through http://

www.chomsky.info/articles.htm, on 29.06.2012.

CIA, The World Fact book, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/

index.html, accessed on 27.06.2012

Deborah Brautigam, The Dragons Gift, The Real Story of China in Africa, Oxford, UK: Oxford

University Press, January 2010, pp. 28

Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed through http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1075556/neoconservatism, on 29.06.2012

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, Economic and financial section, accessed through http://

www.eeas.europa.eu/euromed/etn/finance_en.htm

Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership (FEMIP)

http://www.eib.europa.eu/projects/regions/med/index.htm?lang=-en, accessed on 27.06.2012.

Hwidan Mohammad Ben Al Arab wal-Namudhaj al-Sini [Arabs and the Chinese example], al-

B a y a n , M a r c h 6 , 2 0 0 8 , h t t p : / / w w w . a l b a y a n . a e / s e r v l e t / S a t e l l i t e ?

c=Article&cid=1201709073896&pagename=Albayan%2FAr ticle%2FPrint&sType=print, seen

in The Vital Triangle: China, The United States, and The Middle East, Jon B. Alterman and

John W. Garver

Kaplan, Robert, Pakistans fatal shore, Atlantic Monthly, 2009

8
http://www.albayan.ae/http://www.eib.europa.eu/projects/regions/med/index.htm?lang=-enhttp://www.eeas.europa.eu/euromed/etn/finance_en.htmhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1075556/neoconservatismhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.htmlhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.htmlhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles.htmhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles/20041002.htmhttp://www.albayan.ae/http://www.albayan.ae/http://www.eib.europa.eu/projects/regions/med/index.htm?lang=-enhttp://www.eib.europa.eu/projects/regions/med/index.htm?lang=-enhttp://www.eeas.europa.eu/euromed/etn/finance_en.htmhttp://www.eeas.europa.eu/euromed/etn/finance_en.htmhttp://www.eeas.europa.eu/euromed/etn/finance_en.htmhttp://www.eeas.europa.eu/euromed/etn/finance_en.htmhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1075556/neoconservatismhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1075556/neoconservatismhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1075556/neoconservatismhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1075556/neoconservatismhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.htmlhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.htmlhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.htmlhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index.htmlhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles.htmhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles.htmhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles.htmhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles.htmhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles/20041002.htmhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles/20041002.htmhttp://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7&section=0


9/9

Kleponis, Greg, Chinas role in the stabilization of Afghanistan, USAF Senior Advisor, NTM-

A/CSTC-A

Leech, Garry, Capitalism and the art of dispossession, Beyond Capital, April, 2012, accessed

through http://beyondcapital.org/, on 29.06.2012.

Lenin, I. Vladimir, State and revolution, chapter 5.4 "The Higher Phase of Communist

Society"

National Interest Journal, as seen in Noam Chomskys Its imperialism, Stupid!, accessed

through http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20050704.htm, on 29.06.2012.

Nkrumah, Kwame, Neocolonialism: The last stage of imperialism, Thomas Nelson & Sons,

Ltd., London (1965), Introduction

Xuewen, Qian, Energy Cooperation with Middle East Oil-producing Countries, Chineseeducational ministry program: Chinas national interest in the Middle East, 2009, page 69

9
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/20050704.htmhttp://www.chomsky.info/articles/20050704.htmhttp://beyondcapital.org/http://beyondcapital.org/

What is the best theoretical framework for analyzing U.S', E.U. and China's foreign policy towards...

Documents

Transcript of What is the best theoretical framework for analyzing U.S', E.U. and China's foreign policy towards...