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West challenged to fight fear
By Dominique Moisi |
May 9, 2013, Thursday
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TODAY, fear is ubiquitous, and the bombings at the Boston Marathon must be understood in that context, for the attack both highlights and deepens our pervasive sense of insecurity.
The scale of the Boston attack was much smaller than that of September 11, 2001. But Americans will remember this homegrown plot as a highly symbolic moment: an attack on a venerable international sporting event on Patriots' Day.
The marathon is a cherished event, for it reflects the peaceful values of a democratic society that seeks to transcend its challenges through sheer endurance. Will an attack on such a symbol reinforce the prevalence of fear in an American society that was once defined by hope?
Revisiting my 2009 book, "The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope Are Reshaping the World," it seems clear that fear has gained the upper hand. Does this mean that a fearful West has prevailed once again? And is fear in the rest of the world a response to the West's strength, or to its new weakness?
Either way, the West has now spread its negative emotions, after having once imposed its mostly materialist values on the rest of the world. It is too early to say whether this is a sign of deep change, or merely a passing trend, and reality is, no doubt, much less simple. But, to distill the essence of today's mood, one could say that fear is the direct result of the process of globalization: the world is not necessarily flat, but it definitely feels smaller -and "others" appear more menacing than ever.
If our behavior is based on fear, we will look with suspicion on all those who are different from us, deepening the alienation of the millions inside and outside our countries who believe that they cannot integrate into even the most open societies.
In today's interdependent and transparent world, no society can protect itself fully. There is no isolation from globalized markets, your neighbors' identity crises, or the humiliation felt by those you have tried with so much energy to integrate.
The simultaneity of unmanageable uncertainties may lure some into seeking to reverse a process that has become inescapable and over which no one has control.
Given that all alternatives to globalization are unrealistic, frightening, or both, how can we sublimate, transcend, or at least channel our fears?
Can Western societies remain what they are, or at least should be - open, tolerant, and respectful of difference - while responding to demands for greater protection against the multifaceted threats, whether imagined or real, that we face?
How we answer these questions will in large part determine whether fear has the last word.
Dominique Moisi, a professor at Sciences Po, is senior adviser at the French Institute for International Affairs. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org.Shanghai Daily condensed the article.
The scale of the Boston attack was much smaller than that of September 11, 2001. But Americans will remember this homegrown plot as a highly symbolic moment: an attack on a venerable international sporting event on Patriots' Day.
The marathon is a cherished event, for it reflects the peaceful values of a democratic society that seeks to transcend its challenges through sheer endurance. Will an attack on such a symbol reinforce the prevalence of fear in an American society that was once defined by hope?
Revisiting my 2009 book, "The Geopolitics of Emotion: How Cultures of Fear, Humiliation, and Hope Are Reshaping the World," it seems clear that fear has gained the upper hand. Does this mean that a fearful West has prevailed once again? And is fear in the rest of the world a response to the West's strength, or to its new weakness?
Either way, the West has now spread its negative emotions, after having once imposed its mostly materialist values on the rest of the world. It is too early to say whether this is a sign of deep change, or merely a passing trend, and reality is, no doubt, much less simple. But, to distill the essence of today's mood, one could say that fear is the direct result of the process of globalization: the world is not necessarily flat, but it definitely feels smaller -and "others" appear more menacing than ever.
If our behavior is based on fear, we will look with suspicion on all those who are different from us, deepening the alienation of the millions inside and outside our countries who believe that they cannot integrate into even the most open societies.
In today's interdependent and transparent world, no society can protect itself fully. There is no isolation from globalized markets, your neighbors' identity crises, or the humiliation felt by those you have tried with so much energy to integrate.
The simultaneity of unmanageable uncertainties may lure some into seeking to reverse a process that has become inescapable and over which no one has control.
Given that all alternatives to globalization are unrealistic, frightening, or both, how can we sublimate, transcend, or at least channel our fears?
Can Western societies remain what they are, or at least should be - open, tolerant, and respectful of difference - while responding to demands for greater protection against the multifaceted threats, whether imagined or real, that we face?
How we answer these questions will in large part determine whether fear has the last word.
Dominique Moisi, a professor at Sciences Po, is senior adviser at the French Institute for International Affairs. Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2013. www.project-syndicate.org.Shanghai Daily condensed the article.
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