 Change….Can We Still Believe in it?
You will remember the famous slogan of Barack Obama's election campaign “Change we can believe in.” You may wonder why I am dealing with a one year old slogan now. Just take it as a disappointment of somebody from a war-weary generation. If you came to the world in the late 1980s, it means that you have grown up with wars. One year before, I wholeheartedly believed in the hope for change that would end this condition of my generation, but now this change sounds to me like the dream of a distant future.
The Bush years undoubtedly became a dark era in world history. What do you remember from the Bush administration other than human and material costs of war, increasing tensions between Muslim and Christian world, human rights abuses and detrimental consequences of harsh capitalism? After such infamy, Obama was welcomed not only by American electors, but also by the villagers in Van, who sacrificed 44 sheep to celebrate his presidency simply because he was "our Hussein." His election campaign was based on the promises of reversing what happened in the Bush era.
What is the result then? Is there less fighting, less blood and fewer tears now? Nothing has changed actually or change is just only in rhetoric. The war in Afghanistan is still going on. There is no sign of democracy in neither Iraq nor Afghanistan. Some scholars are talking about a probable “liberation” intervention in Yemen. Guantanamo is adding new guests to the old ones. The Climate Summit in Copanhagen produced no conclusive result. The hope of peace in the Palestine-Israel conflict is suffering in the hands of hawks.
Then, remember what happened on 9 October, 2009. That morning during one of the classes we surprisingly learned that Obama was awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize. The entire class was in shock. We were asking "but for what reason"? If it was about his being the first black American president, wouldn't the American nation be more worthy of it? One student argued that maybe it is because of encouraging Obama to speed the peace process up. One of the comments in the class was thought-provoking: “Why do not they give it to Osama Bin Laden or the leader of Hamas if it is the question of encouragement? Certainly this will work better.” Then we learned that he was awarded “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” How can one reject his extraordinary efforts in traveling and giving speeches?
Nowadays, I am aware of that I and many others were mistaken in over believing Obama and his promise of change. Foreign policy-making is not simply up to the leaders. It is a complex process which covers many actors from Congress to transnational corporations. Obama is just one part of it. The lesson which I took from the American elections is: do not exaggerate the role of leaders!
BY GONCA ŞAHİN (IR/IV)
sahin_g@ug.bilkent.edu.tr 
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