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IN PERSON
EMPOWERING DEMOCRACIES
It’s not easy being the secretary of state for the world’s
biggest superpower, but Madeleine Albright, the first woman ever
to hold the office, proved herself capable of shouldering the responsibility
during her four years in office. Business Monthly spoke exclusively
to the former Clinton administration official during a recent visit
to Cairo.
By Réhab El-Bakry
Opinionated, outspoken, hated by some, loved by others. Albright
knew that when it comes to politics, you can’t win them all.
Appointed as US secretary of state during the second term of the
Clinton adminstration, the Czech-born American diplomat was one
of the most dynamic individuals to hold the position. During her
four years in office (1997-2000), she developed a strong understanding
and opinion of the Arab world and sharpened her view on what the
region needs for democratization and economic liberalization.
As chairwoman of the National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs – a Washington-based NGO dedicated to opening dialogue
with countries in the developing world in order to facilitate the
growth of democracy – she’s using these views as a starting
point for her activities. Developing democratic systems and economic
liberalization go hand-in-hand, she argues, but a country must have
the right ingredients in place before a democratic shift can occur.
“I have for long had this theory that in order to have a functioning
democratic system, you need to have an empowered middle class because
they are then in a position to make decisions about their own lives.
That then translates into wanting to be able to make some decisions
about how the government is organized and how to participate in
it. Opening markets, economic development and functioning economies
help create middle classes. They then become very interested in
participating in political activities, which then further opens
up the system by increasing demands for the creation of legal systems
and commercial codes that then brings in outside business. So it
is kind of a perpetual motion machine,” she says.
Albright believes recent changes in the region indicate that Arab
governments are moving towards opening their economies, which should – according to her theory – inevitably lead to the creation
of a larger middle class that will demand more participation in
the political system. She says one of the main reasons why the US
is closely following the economic reform measures that have been
taking place in Egypt since last July is because they see these
steps as a prelude to real economic and political development.
“I know that Egypt already has a middle class, probably larger
than other Arab countries, but just listening to the determination
the new cabinet has to update the economic legislation, to deal
with a tax system [to make it] fair and regularized, and cutting
through a lot of the bureaucratic maze, I think this is something
that is very important to reforming Egypt’s economy in order
for it to live up to its potential,” she says.
The former diplomat points out that the approach the new government
is taking is just as important as the decisions they are making.
The fact that ministers handling strategic portfolios come from
private business gives them firsthand knowledge of the private sector’s
needs. Their experience managing companies is certain to affect
their approach in managing their portfolios.
“I think there’s a new sense of energy that comes with
having a team that is very task and business oriented. The CEO kind
of approach to [dealing with issues] makes it very attractive to
the international community,” says Albright. She points to
the amount of coverage the Egyptian delegation received in Davos
in early January. “The team made a good impression on various
people particularly about the kinds of things that are happening
here.”
What impressed Albright even more is that the Egyptian cabinet appears
committed to genuine reform and is willing to make tough decisions,
even when it means facing stormy public criticism. A case in point
is the signing of the qualifying industrial zone (QIZ) agreement
between Egypt, the US and Israel. The agreement allows Egyptian
products manufactured in designated zones to be exported to the
US without customs or quotas provided they have a minimum of 11.7
percent Israeli content. For Albright, the agreement has personal
appeal because the QIZ model was put forward by the Clinton administration
in 1996.
“I think [signing the agreement] is very important because
it opens up a market and can increase the level of export to the
US in a very short period of time. I think it’s a very good
and important step because it puts Egypt in a position to really
expand its exports. It was something that [the Clinton administration]
thought up in order to expand economic development.” At the
same time, the idea of taking Egyptian-Israeli trade relations a
step further is another advantage that Albright sees for Egypt to
continue to set an example of peace in the region.
Albright has witnessed the effect of foreign policy on the Middle
East. During her term as permanent US representative to the United
Nations (February 1993 to January 1997, she had a front row seat
to the ramifications of sanctions on Iraq. The experience tempered
her approach towards the Middle East and the thorny peace process.
While she’s reluctant to publicly criticize the Bush administration,
it’s clear she disagrees with many of its Middle East policies,
particularly the decision to invade Iraq, alienate traditional partners
in the region and its handling of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Moreover, she is at odds with the administration’s approach
to spreading democracy, which has been more stick, less carrot.
“I have always been a firm believer in diplomacy as the best
way to address issues. We have not had a lot of diplomacy going
around, particularly when it comes to the Middle East and the US
government. Right now, US policies towards the region are not the
most popular. But I do hope that things will gradually improve during
the second Bush administration. The president’s speeches have
implied this, but there have been no specifics as to the course
of action stated. So we can only wait and see,” she says.
Albright feels the US has not paid enough attention to the peace
process and has consequently kept Egypt from playing the active
role it has in the past. “There hasn’t been much initiative
to include it in many of the issues pertaining to the region and,
in my opinion, this is a mistake. I think there are indications
that the Bush administration is taking a different approach to diplomatic
issues and bilateral relationships but we will have to wait and
see what this will actually mean.”
She hopes the Bush administration will work harder to get the Egyptian
government more involved on resolving the Palestinian conflict,
as well as providing support to the Iraqi government. Despite a
perceived cooling of Egyptian-US relations over the past four years,
she says that the relationship between the two countries is sufficiently
developed and stable that it can withstand a few bumps.
Albright sees her new role as head of the National Democratic Institute
for International Affairs as an opportunity to advocate political
and economic development through non-official routes. “Track
two diplomacy can be effective in the sense that it provides a route
for dialogue through non-official capacities,” she says. And
while she remembers fondly her time as secretary of state, she also
enjoys her new role.
“There’s no better job in the world than being secretary
of state of the United States,” she says with a chuckle. “But
I hope very much that through the various activities that I am involved
in I can be helpful and effective in opening dialogue and discussions.
So, since I always try to believe that what I am doing now is more
interesting than what I was doing before, [which is] hard to do
given my previous job, I do think that I do have a role.”
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