Current and former U.S. ambassadors brought an inside look at international politics to MSU students this week as a part of the sesquicentennial celebration.
As part of MSU's 150th birthday celebration, four diplomatic experts were on hand for a discussion on Tuesday in the International Center and participated in a variety of classroom discussions across campus this week. They also took part in the 15th annual International Awards Ceremony on Wednesday.
Jay Rodman, director of communications and publications for the university's Office of International Studies and Programs, said he wanted to invite the ambassadors to campus after learning many MSU alumni are involved with foreign service.
Rodman arranged for the ambassadors' visit and chose the topic for Tuesday's discussion, which was titled "Diplomacy in a Single-Superpower World." During the week, the ambassadors met with students in classes and in small groups to discuss diplomacy throughout the world.
"After (the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks) some of the actions taken by the United States were very unpopular with the rest of the world," Rodman said. "The ambassadors addressed how this affects global diplomacy."
Former ambassador Tom Weston spent his life in the U.S. foreign service and recently spent five years as a special coordinator for the country of Cyprus. He said U.S. and foreign relations have changed significantly since the fall of the Soviet Union.
"When there were the two superpowers, many other countries sought to align themselves with the United States," Weston said. "Now, many countries are wary of the power of the U.S."
The policy decisions made after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks caused these worries to increase in the world, Weston said.
"The decision to go it alone in Afghanistan was purely a military one," Weston said. "It hurt us diplomatically, however. Our allies felt they no longer had an influence on U.S. policy."
He said it was vital for other countries to feel they have an influence on U.S. policy. This keeps channels of communication open and allows diplomacy, he said.
Former ambassador Willard De Pree had another perspective on post-Cold War diplomacy.
De Pree, the sole University of Michigan alumnus among the ambassadors, also spent his life in foreign service. His last post was in Bangladesh. He said that during the conflict with the former Soviet Union, the rest of the world was a lot more comfortable with the power of the United States.
Today, he said, the United States does not have global support.
"Favorable attitudes toward us in the world right now are low," De Pree said. "Many in the Arab world say the Iraq war is wrong and has only fanned the flames of terrorism."
The United States' status as the single superpower also was brought up by the ambassadors.
Weston said, unfortunately for the United States, it is a superpower in one aspect only - offensive military power, which caused problems when the country was trying to help rebuild Iraq.
"The regime change was textbook, but we found out we could not handle the rebuilding alone," Weston said. "When it was time to look for help, we found we had dealt ourselves out of the game."
Oscar Roque, an interdisciplinary studies in social science and political science junior, went to the panel discussion on Tuesday to hear about global policy from experts, he said.
Roque said he is considering a career in foreign service and enjoyed the chance to hear former MSU students who were active in the field.
"We are the future," Roque said. "So we need to know what's going on in the world if we are going to make a difference."
