What the world expects from Obama

But democracy is a lesser reason for the world8217;s interest in Obama8217;s victory. After all, the US elects its president every four years in the same manner. Hence, there is, outwardly, nothing new about the latest election. The greater reasons are two, one of which has become visible and the other is yet to become so. What is visible is that the United States has elected its first black president8212;232 years after Thomas Jefferson, the principal architect of America8217;s independence, famously declared that 8220;all men are created equal and independent8221;, 143 years after America abolished slavery with Abraham Lincoln saying, 8220;Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and under a just God, cannot long retain it,8221; and 46 years after Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered the historic 8220;I Have a Dream8230;8221; speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

Slavery ended, but racial discrimination continued to remain the birthmark of America. Obama8217;s victory signals the hope that this ugly birthmark could finally get erased. A substantial reason for the rest of the world8217;s joy at Obama8217;s victory is that it represents the triumph of a universal ideal8212;equality of all human beings irrespective of the colour of their skin or, for that matter, their caste, religion, language or economic status.

The world is applauding Obama8217;s victory for another reason, but here the change is still in the realm of expectation and not fact. Like Americans, much of the world was also angry over the eight years of George W. Bush8217;s presidency. Bush was a bully, and the world does not like bullies who believe in the principle of 8220;might is right8221;. Hence, the dislike for Bush had bred an intense desire for change. The world community saw the symbol of change in Obama. His youthful personality and powerful oratory exuded certain genuineness, a hope that his presidency could mark a clean break from the past.

But will Obama fulfill the world8217;s expectations? Will he begin the process to ensure an end to America8217;s militarism, which has become its guiding ideology? Let8217;s remember that USA is the only country which, since World War II, has almost always been at war with some country or the other across the globe. Some of the wars it has waged have been justified on the basis of pure lies, such as the invasion and occupation of Iraq. Similarly, we in India should be wary of America8217;s seemingly endless war in Afghanistan. It has destabilised South Asia like nothing else has. We must not support it in the name of our own 8220;War on Terror8221;. Just spare a thought for the hundreds of innocent civilians who have been bombed to death by Americans in Afghanistan and in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Therefore, Obama8217;s pre-poll talk of attacking Pakistan should be a matter of concern, especially given that the Bush administration in its closing months executed much of Obama8217;s prescriptions.

Yes, Pakistan must be prevented from falling into the hands of jihadis. But this task must be cooperatively undertaken by the international community, especially by affected regional actors such as Russia, Iran, India and China and not unilaterally by the US army. Indeed, the biggest test of whether Obama represents real change for the international community is whether he moves his country away from the Superpower mentality, wisely recognising the sober realities of what Fareed Zakaria, the famous Indian-American columnist, calls the 8220;Post-American World8221;. For too long, America8217;s ruling class has lorded over the world. It has overstretched its actual strength. Its economy is groaning under a mountain of debt, both domestic and foreign.

Even though America8217;s Roman Moment might be over for good, in its dying years the American Empire8217;s ways and means of dealing with its own domestic crisis have convulsed the rest of the global economic system into turmoil. It is therefore natural for us to eagerly await the reconstruction process that Obama most certainly would have to begin next January, and which, if conceived in a sincere spirit, would inevitably involve the retrenching of US military-political commitments across the globe. The world expects to know whether Obama has a plan and commitment to fundamentally reform America8217;s economy, to drastically reduce the rich-poor divide in his own country, and also to help begin the process of peaceful restructuring of the World Economic Order in favour of the poor in every corner of the globe.

Obama will be hailed as a great leader only if he puts substance into the stirring Poetry of Change that marked his campaign. As one of his millions of admirers in India, I have this to say to the president-elect: 8220;Hearty congratulations and best wishes. You have made the promise of Change come to America. But history will judge you by whether you can make positive Change come to the Rest of the World.8221;

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