Monogamy is good in marriage, but not in trade," argued Juan Carlos Echeverry, Colombia's finance minister. Extrapolate that statement a bit and it would end, "but not in trade or foreign relations."Wikipedia would describe the term realpolitik or the application of practical considerations to political decisions as, "politics or diplomacy based primarily on power and on practical and material factors and considerations, rather than ideological notions or moralistic or ethical premises."
That's why the international community could ignore what has happened in Chechnya, Tibet, Burma and various Latin American and African States over the years while actively intervening in Iraq, Libya, Cuba, Panama and Grenada to name just a few. Like it or not, the need for the preservation and advancement of strategic national interests trumps almost everything else in international relations. How a State (or more accurately the government of that state at the time the decision is made) decides what action is or is not in its strategic national interest is the source of much debate as, to a large extent, such decisions are extremely subjective. Barbados stayed out of the initial PertoCaribe arrangement which would have allowed them to access oil while deferring payment with low interest from Venezuela in solidarity with its Caricom brethren Guyana. Venezuela had excluded Guyana from the deal due to a border dispute with that state. The rest of Caricom (except T&T which sells oil to Caricom) jumped at the deal. Therefore Barbados decided that Caricom solidarity was more of a strategic priority than cutting a deal with Venezuela to access the oil. The other Caricom states saw it differently.
Realpolitik is one aspect of a country's foreign policy. Whether a country has a co-ordinated foreign policy or not, countries will always seek benefit where they can. However, where a country has a well defined and articulated foreign policy, which serves to further their national priorities, the chance of ad hoc initiatives which are likely to bring little benefit is reduced.
Over the last decade, T&T has not had a complete and coherent foreign policy. While much fuss was made about the ATM and post-hurricane Tomas comments by this government, the fact is that T&T's regional image was suffering long before. Residents of the OECS were wary of colonial-type ambitions by this country following the Manning plan for integration of the OECS and T&T.
Guyana, quite rightly, felt that it was not treated in the same manner as other states in the Caricom by T&T (just compare the reaction of the T&T government to the floods in that country in 2004/2005 with support given to other countries in the region which experienced natural disasters). In addition, Jamaica and Barbados unreasonably have issues with the level of T&T investment in their economies.
Having said all that, this government has said that promoting trade and investment will be a key plank of the country's foreign policy during their term in office.This will require several initiatives. In the context of the refashioning (or, more accurately, development) foreign policy, a couple of positives have already started to emerge.The first is hard trade promotion through this country's embassies and missions abroad. This has already started to happen and is a welcome move.
The second is more complex. It requires deliberate action to open up new markets not through trade agreements only but through real trade promotion and the enhancement of linkages with countries and regions that have not traditionally been markets. Simultaneously, the nation's foreign policy must take into account that T&T and even Caricom has been unable to influence much of what happens in international fora.
To achieve the first and remedy the second, T&T must respond to global changes and re-align its actions accordingly. Deeper relations must be forged with the BRICS and potential allies in the G20.Both the BRICS-Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa-and the G20 (the countries with the world's largest 20 economies) are relatively recent groupings designed to diffuse the global balance of power, particularly in trade-related matters. Ostensibly, the two groupings aim also to make the global trade environment fairer.
Of course, realpolitik will come into play and each country will use every avenue available to it, including 'clubs' and groups, to further its national interests. T&T therefore must consider how it can develop deeper relations and therefore become more influential within the global system. In this regard, strengthening ties with the BRIC countries and countries with shared interests in the G20 is vital.
The world has moved from being uni-polar (where the US was by and large the accepted most influential economic and military actor) to one which is multi-polar. Therefore T&T, just as the country recognises the need to diversify the onshore economy, must diversify its markets and its relationships to more effectively achieve its strategic national interests.
It appears as though this government is using these principles as the underpinning of its foreign policy. The increased interaction with the country's Latin American neighbours and attempts to deepen relations with Brazil are very positive steps. What is required now is to pull all these initiatives together and have them co-ordinated as part of a new, well-defined, well articulated and coherent foreign policy. It appears as though this is on the horizon and if so, the country stands to reap significant benefits.Polygamy rather than monogamy is required in this strategy.
