Interests and Values

Aaron Ellis takes a whack at the idea that democracies, merely by being democracies, have common interests:

One of the popular misconceptions in international relations is that countries which share common values automatically possess common interests. It’s an attitude that is not only flawed historically but also dangerous as an influence on contemporary policy, like the attempt to create a ‘European’ foreign policy. Twenty-five nations with different customs, historical experiences, strategic cultures and economic priorities cannot share a single foreign policy, or at least not give much practical support to an agreed line. A series of crises over the last decade from Iraq to the New Year’s War in Gaza to meltdown in Greece have demonstrated this.

Regime type does not dictate strategies. Democracies can be enemies and autocracies can be either neutral or allied for narrow interest. One of the best examples of this, actually, is Spain's foreign policy during World War II. Franco may have shared some of the Axis's political leanings, but decided to stay out. As a result, he escaped the destruction of the Axis and his regime comfortably outlasted them.

Comments

[Laura Donovan]

"Twenty-five nations with different customs, historical experiences, strategic cultures and economic priorities cannot share a single foreign policy, or at least not give much practical support to an agreed line."

Exactly.