Why are we facing such a dearth of global leadership today? Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group, shares his view on the issue in this video.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
[Ian Bremmer:] Obama comes out and says that Syria is really not his responsibility if it goes wrong, it’s the responsibility of the international community—which is great, except who is this international community? I didn’t know it existed. It would be great. We’d all like it. It doesn’t exist.
This is the problem.
You’ve got a lot of really smart leaders around the world that are really good analytically but they don’t want to lead. They’re not prepared to deal with the accountabilities and responsibilities that actually come with international leadership.
As a consequence we have a G-Zero. That’s not Obama’s fault. That’s much more structural than blaming. It would be just like the Americans to blame their president for all of the things happening in the world. We’re too small for that. But we do deserve at least a piece of that responsibility.
[Diplomatic Courier:] Do you believe leadership can be taught?
[IB:] Of course it can. And more importantly I believe it can be taught by example. I believe it can be mentored and it should be mentored. Leadership is really about having a set of values that you communicate. It equates to a vision. You are then accountable for the implementation of that vision, and when you fail, you own it. You apologize when something goes wrong. It’s on your watch. The buck stops with you. That is leadership.
I look at Congress today. I look at folks that Americans have elected. And they—the American people—deserve an apology. They deserve an apology. We deserve an apology because we’ve got a lot of smart people but we lack leadership.
If this were only a problem in the United States we’d be fine, because the United States is very rich and the U.S. is very stable, and frankly most of us don’t care about this stuff. But it really matters internationally.
It matters because the United States has held itself up as the exceptional power. The indispensible nation. And to be a leader for other countries around the world doesn’t mean sending your troops everywhere, though sometimes there’s a place for that. What it really means is that you have values, you communicate them to the rest of the world, and then you actually live up to them yourselves. And when you don’t, you take that on. And you admit to it.
Does anyone in the world today following what we have seen with the NSA and Snowden, does anyone believe today with what we’ve seen with the government shutdown; does anyone believe today with what we’ve seen in Syria, that the United States is displaying leadership, mentorship by example? And the answer is, unfortunately, no.
See the rest of the Ian Bremmer series:
- Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World
- The International Impact of the U.S. Government Shutdown
- Obama’s Second Term Foreign Policy Advisors Are the B-Team
- Advice to Obama on Syria and Iran—Syria is a "Disaster"
- If Only This World Leader Could Run for High Office in the U.S.
Check out all of our other videos here or on YouTube.
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Ian Bremmer: The Problem with Global Leadership Today
October 16, 2013
Why are we facing such a dearth of global leadership today? Ian Bremmer, President of the Eurasia Group, shares his view on the issue in this video.
INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT:
[Ian Bremmer:] Obama comes out and says that Syria is really not his responsibility if it goes wrong, it’s the responsibility of the international community—which is great, except who is this international community? I didn’t know it existed. It would be great. We’d all like it. It doesn’t exist.
This is the problem.
You’ve got a lot of really smart leaders around the world that are really good analytically but they don’t want to lead. They’re not prepared to deal with the accountabilities and responsibilities that actually come with international leadership.
As a consequence we have a G-Zero. That’s not Obama’s fault. That’s much more structural than blaming. It would be just like the Americans to blame their president for all of the things happening in the world. We’re too small for that. But we do deserve at least a piece of that responsibility.
[Diplomatic Courier:] Do you believe leadership can be taught?
[IB:] Of course it can. And more importantly I believe it can be taught by example. I believe it can be mentored and it should be mentored. Leadership is really about having a set of values that you communicate. It equates to a vision. You are then accountable for the implementation of that vision, and when you fail, you own it. You apologize when something goes wrong. It’s on your watch. The buck stops with you. That is leadership.
I look at Congress today. I look at folks that Americans have elected. And they—the American people—deserve an apology. They deserve an apology. We deserve an apology because we’ve got a lot of smart people but we lack leadership.
If this were only a problem in the United States we’d be fine, because the United States is very rich and the U.S. is very stable, and frankly most of us don’t care about this stuff. But it really matters internationally.
It matters because the United States has held itself up as the exceptional power. The indispensible nation. And to be a leader for other countries around the world doesn’t mean sending your troops everywhere, though sometimes there’s a place for that. What it really means is that you have values, you communicate them to the rest of the world, and then you actually live up to them yourselves. And when you don’t, you take that on. And you admit to it.
Does anyone in the world today following what we have seen with the NSA and Snowden, does anyone believe today with what we’ve seen with the government shutdown; does anyone believe today with what we’ve seen in Syria, that the United States is displaying leadership, mentorship by example? And the answer is, unfortunately, no.
See the rest of the Ian Bremmer series:
- Winners and Losers in a G-Zero World
- The International Impact of the U.S. Government Shutdown
- Obama’s Second Term Foreign Policy Advisors Are the B-Team
- Advice to Obama on Syria and Iran—Syria is a "Disaster"
- If Only This World Leader Could Run for High Office in the U.S.
