German Chancellor Angela Merkel flying above Kabul in helicopter, in 2007 (AFP)

European soft power is not working

As Afghans go to the polls today, the 20th of August, to pick a president for the second time since 2005, peace and Western-style democracy are having a hard time taking hold. European countries, while claiming they have a role to play there, are not entirely pulling their weight in the NATO mission or, for that matter, allotting adequate resources to the country’s reconstruction.

Published on 20 August 2009 at 15:07
German Chancellor Angela Merkel flying above Kabul in helicopter, in 2007 (AFP)

In the Polish weekly Polityka, political scientist Klaus Bachmann criticises the unrealistic approach of the European countries that have troops in Afghanistan and refuse, for fear of ruffling public opinion, to face the music: “Present-day Poland is far from being a country at war. Countries at war impose military censorship, as in Israel, or curb civil rights, as in the US. None of that is going on in Poland, the UK or Germany. The German government is doing its best to avoid calling the intervention in Afghanistan a war by creating the illusion that its troops are there essentially to support civil society, build schools or defend women’s rights.” Bachmann also points out that peace in Afghanistan will be all the more difficult to come by in that the only means of achieving it – negotiating with the Taliban whether we like it or not – has become impossible to 'sell' politically to the public “now that hundreds of European and American soldiers have died fighting the Taliban” over the past eight years.

Dilema Vechelikewise doubts the merits of the EU’s strategy in Afghanistan and considers it downright “pitiful” that “Western countries are incapable of shouldering their responsibilities”. Specifically, the Romanian weekly lays into the “whole host of softly-softly advocates who have led us to believe the Afghan conflict and the country’s reconstruction can be handled with soft power. A method much in vogue these days, since our democracies would rather send handouts than get involved on the ground alongside NGOs and other organisations” doing hands-on work in daily contact with the Afghan people. “We ought to give up the illusion that soft methods are more effective than forceful ones, and change tack, since the current one compels us to continue the war and go on losing lives. The truth is that the Union has yet to succeed in combining the two types of action; mentally, we are prisoners of this dichotomy, and administratively, we are crucified by our own red tape.”

Militarily faint of heart, Europe is not a whole lot more financially committed to civil reconstruction in Afghanistan, opines Edward Burke inEl País. According to this researcher at the FRIDE think tank in Madrid, “Discounting the use of force simply results in prolonging the stabilisation process, and making it more difficult and more costly.[…] Europe and the UK’s current objectives consist in containing the insurgents, not building strong and transparent national institutions.” Witness the West’s unpreparedness for the current elections, a prime example. “The meagre European funds earmarked for Afghanistan do not exactly constitute a colossal effort to implant a Western institutional model. Among the European donors, the UK, Germany and the European Commission are the only ones to have given Afghanistan more than €100 million a year in development aid. The others have contributed less than they allot to small countries in Latin America or Africa. Between 2008 and 2010, the UK plans to spend less than £20 million (€23.4m) to support government activities and democracy in Afghanistan. And NATO’s commitment to building an ideal Afghan state is sheer rhetoric.” The truth, concludes Burke, is that “Europe is not contributing much to nation-building in Afghanistan. We carry out small-scale attacks on the insurgents, mainly deploying Anglo-American special forces, while diplomats and development specialists’ hands are tied by their own governments, which narrowly circumscribe their movements. The risk is that instead of imposing a Western model, we are drifting toward the opposite extreme and minimising our demands to justify a rapid European retreat.”

Receive the best of European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday
Tags

Was this article useful? If so we are delighted!

It is freely available because we believe that the right to free and independent information is essential for democracy. But this right is not guaranteed forever, and independence comes at a cost. We need your support in order to continue publishing independent, multilingual news for all Europeans.

Discover our subscription offers and their exclusive benefits and become a member of our community now!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support independent European journalism

European democracy needs independent media. Join our community!

On the same topic