The United States’ approach to foreign policy should be based on the power to persuade rather than the power to dictate, American University professor Clovis Maksoud told a crowd of 25 students, faculty and local residents Thursday at the McCormick-Tribune Center.
The United States tends to “speak at rather than to the people (of the Middle East),” said Maksoud, a professor of international relations and director of the Center for the Global South at American. Efforts to exert power in the region, without sufficient influence, has rendered the U.S. relationship with Arab states “tenuous,” he said.
America is so involved and mesmerized with their support of Israel that they completely disregard all other factors, Maksoud said.
The Sept. 11 attacks became an opportunity for Americans to further label Arabs and Muslims as adversaries. The result is that many countries are now assuming a stance of wanting “distance from U.S policies without confrontation,” he said.
The blame for poor relations does not fall on the United States alone, however. Maksoud acknowledged the political and social deficiencies of the Arab region. He said that the Arab people do not mind being humbled but cannot tolerate being humiliated.
“That just drives us nuts,” he said, bringing a trickle of laughter from the crowd.
In the eyes of Americans, the only “moderate” Arabs are ones who are willing to accommodate the U.S. policy towards Israel, he said.
Additionally, Maksoud said Americans have the mistaken notion that church and state are intimately interwoven in Arab nations.
Instead, he said, Islam’s influence is just as cultural as it is religious.
“It’s possible to be secular and Islamic at the same time,” he said.
Audience members said they found Maksoud’s perspective refreshing.
“He had a very sensible and interesting take on Arab opinion, the huge body of opinion on American ignorance,” said history Prof. Jock McLane.
Evanston resident Alan Birman said Maksoud brought valuable first-hand knowledge on the topic.
“I enjoyed his knowledge and hearing his perspective because he’s been in the middle of all these issues,” Birman said.
Despite strained relations now, Maksoud did express some hope for a better relationship between the U.S. and the Arab states.
“We’re at the crossroads,” he said. “Human development is needed in a world divided by wealth. This distortion must be corrected. The United States must be a pioneer and a leader. … Then the U.S. will not be feared as a superpower, but rather regain respect as a great power.
