It’s OK that America can’t solve all the world’s problems. Nor should we try to do so.
I note this because we are taught at a very young age to be optimistic. Our teachers, parents, and mentors frequently remind us that we live in the greatest and most prosperous country in the world. There is nothing America can’t do if it puts its mind and collective will to it. There is no problem we can’t solve.
As former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright proclaimed 22 years ago, “We are the indispensable nation. We stand tall, and we see further than other countries into the future.”
Recent history has proven this to be a slightly misguided take.
Yes, the United States is an impeccable nation, the system of governance of which is in the envy of people far and wide. But so also is the world a complicated place. Forcing “made in America” solutions to tough, nitty-gritty problems can often be ineffective or even counterproductive. President Biden may want to bring the U.S. back to the head of the international table, but he is quickly discovering (if he didn’t know already) that Washington’s power is not infinite.
Take the coup in Myanmar.
On Feb. 1, Myanmar’s military junta overthrew the democratically elected government. In a matter of hours, it had retaken the reigns of power it had previously held for a half-century. Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Myanmar’s most popular political party, was detained and charged with possessing imported radios. Hundreds of her fellow party members were corralled and forced to stay under army guard. Communications were cut. The new parliament was prevented from assembling. It was the kind of action that grinds at our democratic sensitivities, an event we rightly find objectionable, if not despotic.
Yet, feelings cannot be the pathway on which foreign policy travels.
The stark reality is that America has little ability to change the internal situation in Myanmar. We cannot browbeat the generals into reversing the coup and handing power back to the politicians. Although Biden has announced sanctions against those involved in the coup and will cut off about $1 billion in Myanmar’s assets, economic pressure and diplomatic reprimands won’t convince the generals to return to the barracks. Economic isolation from the West is nothing new for the junta, a group that is perfectly fine with keeping people in poverty if that’s the price tag for its consolidated power. If anyone holds the key to a solution there, it is China and Southeast Asian nations, not the U.S.
Russia is a similar case study in the limits of U.S. power.
The Kremlin’s persecution of opposition campaigner Alexei Navalny, from his poisoning over the summer to his 2 1/2-year prison sentence earlier this month, tugs at the heartstrings. The clampdown on the thousands of Russians taking to the streets is hard to look at, and the eyewitness reports of ordinary Russians packed to the gills in dank, dingy prison cells are even harder to read. But as in Myanmar, it’s difficult to see how Washington can rectify this situation or change Russia’s domestic situation.
The Biden administration and members of Congress are talking about additional sanctions, perhaps targeting the super-rich oligarchs that help make up Vladimir Putin’s power base. But it’s not like Washington hasn’t tried sanctions on Moscow before. According to the Center for a New American Security, Russia has been the second-most-sanctioned country over the last decade, penalized for everything from cyberattacks to its annexation of Crimea. None of those sanctions, however, has made a difference in changing Putin’s policies on his core security interests. The Biden administration could even discuss steeper measures such as restricting Russian financial institutions from the U.S.-led global financial system. Just don’t be surprised if the measures do nothing to push Moscow in the right direction.
If this all sounds fatalistic, my apologies. Unfortunately, what others term fatalism is, in fact, reality. Not even the U.S., as significant as it is in the international system, can afford to look at the world through rose-colored glasses.
Daniel DePetris (@DanDePetris) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. His opinions are his own.
