What They Think
A Survey of the Views of
Foreign Leaders and Diplomats (2014)

“An attention to the judgment of other nations is important to every government for two reasons: the one is, that, independently of the merits of any particular plan or measure, it is desirable, on various accounts, that it should appear to other nations as the offspring of a wise and honorable policy; the second is, that in doubtful cases, particularly where the national councils may be warped by some strong passion or momentary interest, the presumed or known opinion of the impartial world may be the best guide that can be followed.

What has not America lost by her want of character with foreign nations; and how many errors and follies would she not have avoided, if the justice and propriety of her measures had, in every instance, been previously tried by the light in which they would probably appear to the unbiased part of mankind?”

—James Madison, Federalist No. 63, March 1, 1788

Monday, March 24, 2014

Proper Procedures: Steinmeier on Suarez

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier pays tribute to an icon in the democratization of Spain:
The news of the death of former Spanish Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez leaves me greatly saddened. Not many people know that it was Suárez who, at the end of the Franco dictatorship, launched the bold reforms in Spain that ushered in a new democratic era. During those difficult transition years his government did much of the groundwork required to build the rule of law and a public administration whose decisions were not arbitrary but taken in accordance with proper procedures. His name will always be associated with the successful restoration of democracy in Spain. Democrats throughout Europe will remember his achievements.
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Federal Foreign Office, Germany, March 23, 2014

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