"What I thought was useful was to give the American people some sense of how I was approaching these issues, but also to give them a sense that the world can be responsive to this approach and that it will make a difference," Obama said. "[French President Nicolas] Sarkozy is much more likely to be able to provide more troop support in Afghanistan if his voters are favorably disposed towards us."
This made me think about the role of democracy in foreign policy. I think it's often a common impression that decisions in this sphere are made behind doors and with a small number of advisers. And this is true to a point. Domestic issues are made primarily through Congress, whose decisions, whether reflective or not, are made with a keen awareness of their constituency. But even in decisions that involve foreign diplomacy, leaders are bound to their citizens in a democratic system, and Obama's statement above makes that so clear. Not only does he have to get public support behind him at home, it is also beneficial for policy reasons to have the people of another democracy behind him too. What Bush has not realized is that getting the support of the citizens of democratic states can do more for him than any closed door meeting. If the French people like our president, they will want to align with us, and will pressure their elected leader to align with us too. Sarkozy's public support is very low, and marrying a model didn't help. If he wants to be reelected, and if his people support President Obama (if that's what the future holds) it will be in his best interest to make Obama happy by providing more troop support in Afghanistan.
In some senses this concept is very leader-centric. It's about swaying opinion toward a person, a leader, and not toward ideas or policies. But, appealing to the citizens of a democracy puts more power in the hands of the people. The pressure comes from the bottom up, not from the top down. This kind of appeal would never happen in other political systems. It will be interesting to see if this strategy is employed more. Is Obama's trip a sign of more global democratic appeals to come, or is it simply an extra bonus on a trip whose primary focus was to convince the American people that Obama has what it takes in foreign affairs.
