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The Afghan Badlands and Wikipedia

David Miliband on a decade of "asymmetric decay".

By Harry Conrad Cockburn Published 28 June 2011 14:10

Speaking last night, David Miliband outlined the reasons why he believes the last decade has been the most traumatic for the west since the 1930s.

At an event organised by Intelligence Squared, titled Ten Years after 9/11: The World Remade, the former foreign secretary gave a breakdown of what he described as the "degeneration" of old power structures, and stressed the importance of recognising the need for coherent global interdependence.

Miliband argued that over the past decade, three key features of the international stage have been eroded: Firstly, the historic dominance of the United States; secondly, the shift in the balance of power as a result of this, and thirdly, the deterioration of shared sovereignty in the European Union.

He described America as "a reluctant empire" that has had an increasing focus on internal affairs since Bill Clinton ended his second term. No cogent enemies have raised the US ire other than disparate groups inhabiting the Afghan "Badlands", these semi-independent factions being taken on by the American government in an al-Qaeda instigated "detour" of foreign policy. Miliband likened the sum of individual acts of anarchy against the west to the domination of Microsoft's failed online encyclopaedia by the publicly edited Wikipedia, a relationship he termed "asymmetric decay".

He highlighted what he called a "fundamental divide between politicians and academics over how to create an interdependent world". Some prefer to cling to the cosy notion of the nation-state, Miliband said, while progressive groups expound the virtues of shared sovereignty and a recognition of the increasing role of the individual.

"When we talk about the balance of power we have to talk about people not just states," he said. "The west is going to have to rediscover the joys of multilateralism."

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10 comments

Thu, 2011-06-30 14:39 — B Jones (not verified)

"America as "a reluctant empire" that has had an increasing focus on internal affairs since Bill Clinton ended his second term". Either Milliband has been asleep for the last 10 years or he is part of the cover up! Its all about America gobbling up the rest of the world's oil resources. Peak Oil is well past - America, as the wold's biggest user, is in big trouble. Iraq....Afghanistan(pipeline to Caspian Sea area), now Libya....and keep an eye on Venezuela! And all this Arab Spring' smokescreen. I wonder if the US will ever invade Saudi Arabia(the least democratic dictatorship) to impose democracy?

Tue, 2011-06-28 15:02 — Kippers

"Some prefer to cling to the cosy notion of the nation-state, Miliband said, while progressive groups expound the virtues of shared sovereignty and a recognition of the increasing role of the individual."

A remarkable sentence which tries to dodge around some of the key issues of our times.

Tue, 2011-06-28 17:54 — iainburnshill

Why does he not concentrate on defining Britain's prospective role as a post imperial small confederation of nations, and explain why Labour has so far proved incapable of embracing this?

Tue, 2011-06-28 18:40 — Lou (not verified)

Re Global interdependence ...what's yours is ours and what's ours is our own.

Re balance of power and it being about people not just states.....tell that to the Palestinians, Syrians, Saudis, Iraqis, Afghanistanis, to name a select few. I don't recall David M or any of his party or his predecessors ever giving a fig about the people, only economic, business and strategic interests and resources matter and until the West realises that it's foreign policy is on the whole responsible for this lack of global interdependence and the 'traumatic' ten years the West has so called endured, it will never be any different.

Tue, 2011-06-28 19:18 — David Wearing1

"He described America as "a reluctant empire" that has had an increasing focus on internal affairs since Bill Clinton ended his second term."

Did we imagine George W Bush?

Tue, 2011-06-28 21:57 — anonymous (not verified)

Agree with him or not it's nice to see a politician engaging in a theoretical debate rather than spouting platitudes.

Tue, 2011-06-28 23:53 — Lou (not verified)

Wasn't David speaking at this gathering as Global Advisor for Oxford Analytica?

'We work closely with our corporate clients to identify the key political, economic, legal and regulatory factors affecting their commercial interests in complex markets where macro factors often can determine success or failure.

For investors and corporations seeking growth and value, we provide critical macro diligence capabilities that expose hidden risks and reveal unseen opportunities.

In our macro analytical capacity, we ensure the strongest foundation for market entry in emerging markets. As macro advisors, we serve our clients in the equally important execution stage, ensuring that they establish the strongest long-term foothold in a new market and forge sustainable partnerships with key stakeholders across business and government.

For government and institutions, we provide advice and research to complement or benchmark our clients' own findings, from political, economic and social analysis of key state actors, to transnational issues such as trade or demographics'

Strikes me that his rhetoric on people and not the state is just that anonymous - spouting platitudes and a little bit more posturing for future political position.