17.1 C
Athens
Σάββατο, 2 Νοεμβρίου, 2024

Is UNESCO the Next Arena for U.S.-China Tensions?

Περισσότερα Νέα

- Advertisement -

After much delay, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken travels to China this weekend, hoping to prevent U.S.-China tensions from spiraling further. The bilateral relationship remains the focus of intense attention, but multilateral organizations have long been sites of U.S.-China conflict. The latest arena is UNESCO, which the United States just announced plans to rejoin, largely to counterbalance China’s influence on it.

The United States pulled out of the organization in 1984, citing Soviet influence, and returned in 2004 only to leave again during the Trump administration. It wasn’t just Cold War politics that drove the United States (and the United Kingdom) out of UNESCO in the 1980s. The organization’s internal corruption and bureaucratic incompetence gave it a poor reputation within the nongovernmental organization sector that lasted well into the 2000s.

Things at UNESCO have changed in the decades since, especially after the election of Audrey Azoulay—who has a reputation as a competent manager and diplomat—as director-general in 2017. But disagreements that caused the Obama administration to withdraw funding under an existing law in 2011 and the Trump administration to withdraw altogether were about UNESCO’s recognition of Palestine rather than core U.S. interests. Like China’s pettiness over recognition of Taiwan, the U.S. moves seemed self-sabotaging.

Although UNESCO isn’t a major geopolitical player, the U.S. absence has—to name one example—aided China’s politicization of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list, claiming minority customs and art as part of Chinese heritage or appropriating neighbors’ traditions. (FP’s Liam Scott reported on China’s strategic use of UNESCO’s cultural heritage designation earlier this year.)

The United States returning again should give UNESCO a big financial boost; it owes $600 million in membership back fees. Ultimately, the U.S. relationship with UNESCO highlights a fundamental advantage that China has within the United Nations: Beijing keeps showing up. China has successfully promoted the election of its own staff to key roles in the U.N. and other international organizations, whereas in the United States, domestic politics sometimes get in the way.

- Advertisement -

Washington gets in its own way on other issues, too; it might set up an international trade deal only to have both presidential candidates promise to abandon it during the next election cycle, for example. Meanwhile, the very nature of the United Nations plays to Chinese officials’ strengths. It is a highly bureaucratic organization where suspicion between members abounds; in other words, it resembles the Chinese Communist Party.

China’s own internal politics can sometimes frustrate it on the international stage. Yet Beijing recognizes power depends on showing face at every meeting and sitting through every speech. And compared to China’s bilateral relationships—where it often abruptly breaks off relations or ends talks—its role in multilaterals is much more consistent, because it sees “discourse power” as crucial.

foreignpolicy.com

- Advertisement -

ΑΠΑΝΤΗΣΤΕ

εισάγετε το σχόλιό σας!
παρακαλώ εισάγετε το όνομά σας εδώ

The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

Ροή ειδήσεων

ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Taiwan detects 6 Chinese military aircraft, 9 vessels around territory

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defence (MND) reported Chinese military activity near the island on Tuesday and said that by 6 am (local time), six...

China Tries to Blot out Tibetan Criticism of Mining Firm’s Damage to the Environment 

Chinese censors are trying to prevent people from viewing posts that allege severe environmental damage in Tibet caused by sand mining. A young Tibetan man...

Protests erupt in Balochistan as citizens demand justice amid rising violence

Amid ongoing atrocities and lawlessness in Balochistan, a protest took place in Buleda as residents rallied for the immediate arrest of the killers of...

Chinese armed forces are not as strong as they seem, according to experts

China is seen as a formidable power due to its robust economic growth and military expansion in recent decades, but if experts are to...

ΔΗΜΟΦΙΛΗ ΑΡΘΡΑ

Αμπελόκηποι: Γόνος ευκατάστατης οικογένειας ο 36χρονος που διαμελίστηκε στη γιάφκα – Είχε συλληφθεί μαζί με τον 31χρονο στη Γερμανία

Γόνος ευκατάστατης οικογένειας επιστημόνων που μαζί με τον 31χρονο μηχανολόγο – μηχανικό είχαν προσαχθεί και σημανθεί στη Γερμανία για επεισόδια σε πορείες είναι ο...

Αμπελόκηποι: Οι χειρόγραφες σημειώσεις «ξεκλειδώνουν» τις έρευνες της Αντιτρομοκρατικής – 5 κιλά εκρηκτικής ύλης εξερράγησαν

Σε πλήρη εξέλιξη είναι οι έρευνες της Αντιτρομοκρατικής για την έκρηξη αυτοσχέδιας βόμβας στο διαμέρισμα στους Αμπελόκηπους καθώς ήδη ταυτοποιήθηκε ο νεκρός. Από τα αποτυπώματά...

Aμπελόκηποι: «Μεταμφιεσμένοι» τρομοκράτες ετοίμαζαν εντυπωσιακό χτύπημα στην Αθήνα – Βρέθηκαν σχεδιαγράμματα

Νέα διάσταση στις έρευνες της Αντιτρομοκρατικής δίνουν τα ευρήματα απο νέες εφόδους που έγιναν σε τρεις οικίες και ένα όχημα των ατόμων που σχετίζονται...

Διάσταση απόψεων ανάμεσα σε μεγάλα ειδησεογραφικά δίκτυα! Πρίν ή μετά τις αμερικανικές εκλογές η απάντηση του Ιράν;

Οι New York Times, επικαλούμενοι τρεις αξιωματούχους που γνωρίζουν τον πολεμικό σχεδιασμό του Ιράν, ανέφεραν ότι η επίθεση θα γίνει μετά τις 5 Νοεμβρίου...