George Bush, Tony Blair and Multiculturalism

Self-interest
• A regard for one’s own interests and priorities, often at the cost of another’s
• The often critiqued policies of the United States, which places a higher priority on it’s own interests (those that would be beneficial to it as a nation) than those that would help other nations more
Humanitarianism
• The doctrine that humanity’s obligations are concerned wholly with the welfare of the human race
• An often used term in defining the foreign policy of Canada, which generally aims at helping others, regardless of how much benefit can be claimed in the cause
• Can broach a wide variety of subjects such as hunger, welfare, war and poverty

Afghanistan
• A small, landlocked country located in the Middle East
• Once the power-base of a terrorist political movement known as Al-Quida
• The location of a “War on Terror” currently being fought with several different nations (including Canada) all in an attempt to weed out the base of support for terrorism

Justification
• A reason, fact, circumstance or explanation that justifies or defends a position or action
• The belief that the War on Terror (in Iraq and Afghanistan) is completely justified because of the terrorist attacks on American soil in September 2001
• Often used as a defense for the massive amounts of casualties and damage to various regions in the Middle East as the United States and her allies attempt to hunt down and eradicate those who would “cause terror on an international scale”

George W. Bush
• The former Republican president of the United States
• The Commander in Chief during the September 11 attacks
• The man responsible for declaring war on both Afghanistan and Iraq
• Often criticized for making poor choices in office, hiding official facts and documents from the public and driving the United States into a deep recession and arguably unwinnable war

Tony Blair
• The former Prime Minister of England
• Famously backed George Bush’s plan to invade Iraq and Afghanistan as a “true ally” to the United States and her actions
• Harshly criticized and eventually forced out of office after years bleeding troops and money into two different wars because of the United States encouragement

Multiculturalism
• The preservations of different cultures or cultural identities within a unified society or nation
• A term often used to describe Canada, in which our society tries to “patchwork” together the different cultures that compose it – thereby accepting the different traditions, customs and religions of the different groups and peoples that make up our nation
• Stands as a stark contrast with the United States “melting pot” methods, which attempt to convert all minority cultures into the ideals and traditions of one majority culture
Please answer the following questions in the manner prescribed by the CAPITALISED word(s):
1. COMPLETE a table that looks like the one below based on the material you have read in this section.
Arguments for the imposition of liberalism Examples for each argument Remove any undesirable leader or figurehead Saddam Hussein Secure a solid course of natural resources Oil Improve living conditions in foreign countries Establishing Democracy
Arguments against the imposition of liberalism Examples for each argument Denying a country the right to self-govern Afghanistan Denying a nation the right to control resources Iraq’s Oil Destroys cultural diversity across the globe Muslim Segregation

2. a. What principles of modern liberalism do you think can be successfully fostered in a country by foreign intervention?
• The removal of specific leaders or figureheads and easily be fostered in foreign intervention because once the leader is removed (i.e. Saddam Hussein) he/she often leaves a power vacuum that cannot be immediately filled
• The restoration of basic human rights and privileges will often be successfully accepted by all people during foreign intervention
• These might include the freedom of speech, the right to lawful assembly and the support of an uncorrupt government
b. What principles of modern liberalism can be embraced only through domestic support or instigation?
• It can easily be argued that any imposition of religion will not be accepted unless there is a strong showing of domestic support (i.e. the US will never be able to convert Muslims to Catholics without the support of the Muslim people)
• Many economic sanctions revolving around the placement of a new government or the control of natural resources will often find resistance unless they are along the lines of the people’s wishes
• Domestic support is arguably the most important component of imposing liberalism on a foreign nation, as without it – many changes are likely to falter through aggravated resistance from the indigenous population

c. To what extent has the imposition of liberalism today affected people globally?
• The imposition of liberalism today has greatly affected people around the globe
• One only has to look at the dozens of armed conflicts currently taking place to see examples of different cultures, states and parties all trying to impose some form of liberalism on another
• Liberalism does not only effect the countries being invaded (i.e. Iraq) but also the country doing the invading (i.e. America) as it deals with the political, social and financial fallout from prolonged periods of armed conflict

d. Are there more effective ways of encouraging modern liberalism than those addressed throughout the chapter?
• This depends entirely on the type of liberalism one would want to impose
• Military-backed liberalism is often the easiest answer to an immediate threat against larger and powerful nations
• Other forms of liberalism include economic and political sanctions, in which groups like the UN impose laws or regulations that severely limit or change the way of life in a specific nation
3. Historically, how successful do you think liberal democracies have been in fostering liberalism in other countries?
• Evidence across the world would suggest that liberal democracies have not succeeded in fostering liberalism in other countries
• The most recent evidence can be found in the Middle East
• After 5+ years of war, the United States is leaving Afghanistan and Iraq without effectively fostering any lasting form of liberalism
• Liberal democracies have yet to take hold in any areas of the world that they were not already prevalent (Asia, Africa and the Middle East)

4. Do Western liberal democracies insist that all their foreign allies embrace liberalism? List examples or they have not done so and why this would be.
• On the surface, the answer would seem to be yes – since powerhouses like the United States talk a big game about protecting the globe and supporting liberalism
• Underneath the surface, the answer is actually no – the United States and other major liberal nations often trade and deal with other powerful nations that are not liberal
• One example is China – which stands almost opposite the United States and Canada on a political spectrum, but is their biggest trading partner and creditor
5. Are there circumstances in which a country's stability and national security are more important than its citizens' rights to democratic self-determination? Why or why not?
• This is an extremely tricky question, one that can easily form a slippery slope if not thought out carefully
• When one thinks of their own nation, they may be quick to say that national stability and security are far more important than citizens’ rights to democratic self-determination
• Yet – if a nation is so quick to trample on the rights of its citizens, it will quickly find itself in a hypocritical situation – one in which they are now acting in the very same manner as the countries they are campaigning against