Creating the Spark for the “Grand Alliance?/span>

By

Lauren E Pinson

October 2007

lep@uga.edu

Note:?For my paper I chose to address the topic of how to convince Americans to support the Grand Alliance.?Rather than simply writing a third person paper based on tactics, I have written a speech aimed at American citizens.?Strong majority of the ideas addressed in the speech come from “The Grand Alliance?by Carlo Pelanda.?However, unlike the book, the speech is primarily aimed to persuade Americans of the many advantages that would come after forming the Grand Alliance.?The speech is given with the assumption that the populous listening have no prior knowledge of anything similar to the alliance.?Following the speech, an explanation provides the reasoning behind what is and what is not presented and terminology used.

The following speech is to be read assuming it would be presented by a charismatic political leader on national television.?Preferably, the speech would be in a relatively casual room in front of a window overlooking Washington DC at night.?The setting would be both exude power and intimacy.?How to achieve this presentation is undecided, I simply give you a speech.

“My fellow Americans:

“Tonight I come before you with a proposal that has the ability to change the course of history.?Years from now, your children’s children could look back on your generation as visionaries that took a leap towards a more stable future.?We are at a moment where a decision of international importance must be made, and I urge you, as American citizens, to choose the appropriate path.

“Now, you may be very curious as to what problem we are facing.? The black dragon of China looms in the not-so-distant future as a sly country whose threat we have ignorantly ignored for too long.?Let me explain:

?st1:country-region w:st="on">China was allowed into the global market without agreeing to a single rule.?We can certainly see one downfall of this, with the recent recalls of many “Made In China?goods.?The Chinese economy lacks transparency.?This is bad.? The Chinese government is able to produce what is essentially propaganda to keep investments flowing into the country; however, investors really have no idea what they are falling into.?At the least, China’s giant economy has a shaky core.?If it continues to expand, eventually the world economy will completely rest upon the black dragon of China.?And, if the core of China shatters, the world economy will collapse alongside it.? China’s economy is not the greatest risk the country brings us.

?st1:country-region w:st="on">China, as a communist state, has the ability to create long term plans, which the country then follows.?China’s long term plan is to slowly expand its sphere of influence to include most of the Asia-Pacific region, which would create a multi-national bloc of global power.?In short, China is attempting to create a strong regional bloc that would have the size and power to achieve loose world supremacy.?Once this bloc has supremacy, the rest of the world will have no possible action to take besides following China’s leadership.

“In our country, plans have a tendency to be revised with every election cycle.?As political majorities ebb and flow, foreign policies are forced to follow the current.? We must adhere to a plan for now and the future.?We must take a tip from the enemy and focus on long-term planning.?Otherwise, my generation will be faced with a well-planned Chinese opposition that we will have little hope of competing with.?Certainly, an initial thought might be to simply slap China on the wrist.?However, it has been a long time since China has paid serious heed to any words spoken by the United States. We no longer have the relative force to back ourselves up without risking retaliation.

“For the past 62 years, the United States has been a sort of international supervisor.? Regardless of how you think that turned out, we now face a time where the US is still the single most dominant country, but we no longer have the mass power needed to keep global order as we once attempted.?America has not lost absolute power, but rather other countries have prospered and gained relative power on the international level.?The world (and its problems) have simply increased beyond what a single country can handle.?America certainly has the ability to protect its citizens but can no longer afford to police the entire globe.?In her short history, America has boldly played the role of a world leader. It is now time to lead the world into the future.?As the international stage changes, new roles must be cast.

“An unprecedented alliance should be formed.? [pause] This “Grand Alliance?would be formed between American, European, Asian, and Russian democracies.? Unlike most alliances created for short periods of time, the Grand Alliance would be long lasting.?With the combination of nations, the alliance would have the power to issue and enforce codes of conduct.?In addition, the alliance would create the political stage for a stable global market.?With the ability to keep the market stable and to protect democracies, the alliance would ruin China’s plan of having a strong regional bloc.?The alliance should begin with stronger alliances formed between the United States of American and the European Union.?Once begun, other countries would fall into place.

?/span>“If formed, the alliance would foster many other benefits that go beyond containing China.?One of these benefits would be the spread of democracy.?If the largest allied bloc of countries in the world was a group of democratic countries, fledgling democracies would have more chance for success.? I am not saying the alliance would force ideological imperialism but rather that the alliance would help spread what is considered the most desirable form of government.

?/span>“In his book On Democracy, distinguished political scientist Robert Dahl explains ten reasons democracy is a better bet than any attainable alternative:

          ?“’Democracy helps to prevent government by cruel and vicious autocrats.?Democracy guarantees its citizens a number of fundamental rights that non-democratic systems do not, and cannot, grant.?Democracy insures its citizens a broader range of personal freedom than any feasible alternative to it.?Democracy helps people to protect their own fundamental interests.?Only a democratic government can provide a maximum opportunity for exercising moral responsibility.?Democracy fosters human development more fully than any other feasible alternative.?Only a democratic government can foster a relatively high degree of political equality.? Modern representative democracies do not fight wars with one another.?Countries with democratic governments tend to be more prosperous than countries with non-democratic governments?(Dahl, pp. 60-61).? Certainly, spreading democracy would add more stability to the world.

“Philosopher John Locke described a “state of Nature?and how in this state man cannot enjoy his freedom because his life and property are insecure and unsafe.?In order to survive, men merge under governments.?On a national level, countries have governments that preserve the life and property of their citizens.?By having this government, rules can be enforced that protect everyone (Woll, pp. 6-7).?However, on the international scale, we are still in a state of Nature.?Yes, there are international laws and multinational organizations such as the United Nations.?But, nothing has enough combined power to truly let us leave the state of Nature on the international scale.?The Grand Alliance could be that opportunity.

“Is it not better to survive hand-in-hand than to flail separately into uncertainty??Our combined force would be too powerful to attack: militarily, economically, and culturally.?It would not be a cultural integration, but rather a joining of forces to protect mutual interests, like the survival of many countries and their distinct cultures.? We will not be creating a single mega country, but rather we would be protecting many separate sovereign nations.

“Around the time of the American Revolutionary War, a now-famous political sketch drawn by Benjamin Franklin was widely circulated.? The drawing depicted a snake cut up into segments, each segment representing one of the colonies.?Below, the words “Unite or Die.?span style='mso-spacerun:yes'>?I urge you today to take this message to heart.? Today we are not 13 colonies binding together against a larger force.?Rather, we are many sovereign countries with the opportunity to side together to ward off a single enemy.?Once bound together, no enemy will have the ability to overtake the alliance.? Instead, other countries and entities would be forced to compromise with the greater power.?

“The forefathers of this great nation stood for a new future that many thought was an impossible risk.?After over 200 years, we can see they were successful.?Now is a moment for another monumental risk that can produce a stable future for generations to come.?Timing is important.?This alliance can only form if regional blocs are not formally created first.?If the world divides itself into regions it will be much more difficult to build a solid international alliance spanning many oceans and landmasses.?The alliance must be created before China is even stronger and has a better chance of blocking the formulation. In addition, we should create this alliance in times of relative peace, when coherent thought can be used, rather than make a skewed attempt towards a treaty in a time of extreme distress.

“There is no other plausible option.?I urge you to take action for the future of your posterity and for the integrity of this great nation.?Make sure your Congressmen understand not only the legitimacy but also the urgency of taking action.?You are the people of the United States of America, and only you have the opportunity to stabilize the future.?Take it.?/span>

Explanation: Americans are used to world news in sixty seconds, dinner in five minutes, books on CD, and speed dating.?We live in a fast-paced culture.?The speech itself is relatively short.?The point must be succinctly presented, yet stand out enough to sink into the minds of Americans.?Also, the speech must have enough 5-10 second phrases that will easily become news spots.

Ideally, the speech will aid in convincing Americans of the novelty and steadfastness of the Grand Alliance.? The speech must be kept simple. The language used in the speech involved both repetitive ideas and compact sentences.? Visual language is dispersed throughout.? Also, many of the complications of the Grand Alliance were not divulged.?The aim is not to hide the truth but also not to blatantly confront Americans with aspects of the plan they would consider confrontational downfalls. The solution was the main focus of the speech in order to make the whole idea seem reasonable.? In some sections of the speech, what may seem like obvious downfalls were immediately denied and then re-explained in terms more favorable to alliance building.?In this fashion, one can take the fire from the opposition by knocking down its claims before they have been made.

The speech was meant to have patriotic phrasing that can hit a chord on a subconscious level.? Also, by making connections to Benjamin Franklin, John Locke, and the American Revolution, the Grand Alliance can almost been seen as patriotically American.? Rather than just admitting that America is relatively weaker, the speech manipulates the idea a bit and shows America as a noble leader maneuvering the rest of the world into a productive future.?In addition, the explanation that the Grand Alliance could increase democracy is an idea Americans would favor.

          ?Admittedly, many Americans today pay attention neither to politics nor televised speeches.?To overcome this, the speech must be taken into other mediums.?First off, the recording of the speech must be put on multiple video websites, including YouTube.?Conversations need to be started in hundreds of online blogs, preferably both political and none.?A grassroots effort needs to be formed.?However, it must initially be set up by a core group of individuals before the speech.? After the speech, public approval may be both observed and cultivated. ?/span>Essentially the groundwork for grassroots support must be laid before the speech is given, and then the speech will be the spark to light the groundwork on fire. In the United States the will (or whim) of the people tends to run many politicians?agendas.?If US politicians know they have the support of the people to form the Grand Alliance, the alliance will become a far more plausible option.

Works Cited

Dahl, Robert. On democracy. New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2000.

Pelanda, Carlo. The grand alliance: The global integration of democracies. Milano, Italy: FrancoAngeli,

2007.

Woll, Peter. American government: Readings and cases. 15. Brandeis University: Pearson Longman, 2004.

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