“National sovereignty” is not a popular notion among those American and European elites who hang out at the United Nations. It so jingoistic, so tribal. Even, backward. But national sovereignty, which is really the same idea as self-determination and is indispensable to democracy, will be a theme of President Trump’s address to the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday.
By emphasizing sovereignty in a setting where it is more commonly eroded, Trump is doing what he does best; bluntly repudiating the most fashionable idea of the people around him. He is right to do so. The venue and Trump’s overall tone at the U.N. this week are an important rebuke to those who say sovereignty, or Trump’s motto of “America First,” are somehow “isolationist” or at odds with multilateralism and diplomacy.
The president has questioned or denigrated the value of multilateralism, of American alliances, and of diplomacy. It has been unwise and unfortunate to do so. But these days he has a more mature and nuanced stance. He hasn’t abandoned the principle that the government he heads must serve the interests of the people who voted them into office. But he has increasingly understood the ways in which he serves America by fostering friendships with other nations and strengthening alliances.
In Poland, Trump gave an excellent speech celebrating the shared heritage of the West, and exalting the immense contributions Western civilization has made to human happiness and thriving. He has reinvigorated NATO, the relevance of which he once denied, by demanding that allies pay their share of its upkeep. He has bolstered our friendship with allies neglected by former President Barack Obama, such as Britain, Kuwait, and Israel.
Trump often sounds a non-interventionist note, but he hasn’t shied away from using or threatening force, with Iran and North Korea as the cases in point.
At the same time, he has withdrawn and held back when appropriate. In Syria, he launched a targeted, discrete missile attack, but rejects the sort of regime change that Obama spoke of but did nothing to effect. And Trump is pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord, to the gnashing of teeth of many an editorial board that has difficulty explaining why it is worth the paper it is written on.
Nikki Haley, Trump’s adept U.N. ambassador put it well when she said, “I personally think he slaps the right people, he hugs the right people, and he comes out with the U.S. being very strong in the end.”
Trump is trying to wield American power to serve American interests, and he knows this requires alliances, friendship, and cooperation.
We hope he will take this approach on Tuesday. The United Nations is not useless, see the sanctions against North Korea, and its faults, such as the foul makeup of the Human Rights Commission, are not inherent. Trump acknowledged as much Monday when he couched criticisms of the institution by saying the U.N. “has not reached its full potential,” because of corruption and inefficiency.
Anyone who has followed the evolution of international bodies such as the U.N. and the European Union knows that strong forces of centralization are always present. Trump can do the world much good by planting a flag for national sovereignty while nevertheless seeking international cooperation. Bringing his business sense to bear, the president can make the U.N. more efficient and less corrupt.
The idea that national sovereignty means isolationism is a canard, a way in which those who oppose it try to tarnish it by denigrating it as something it is not. The global community is and ought to be a couple of hundred independent nations forming alliances and working together for mutual benefit. It should not be an international quasi-government.
Diplomacy and nationalism are often presented as opposites. But there is no necessary tradeoff between the two. Trump is showing that they can go hand-in-hand. You can advance your country’s interests fiercely even while embracing and taking the trouble to persuade the world.
