Heretical Thoughts

Published October 12, 2009 @ 09:11PM PT

1. Would you take advice on how to fix some of the structural issues facing the States -- say income inequality, or the debt -- from a Congolese man who has spent a grand total of twelve months in the country? You might listen politely, even nod, but chances are you wouldn't find his analysis particularly illuminating.

So, why, exactly, are we qualified to offer governance and economic advice to the Congolese? Or, really, to anyone else?

Most answers seem a variation on the theme of "our system works better than theirs; ergo I'm qualified to dispense advice" -- but, unless you wrote the Federalist Papers or helped establish the European Coal and Steel Community, it's hard to take much personal credit.

2. We are not the first to propose long-term solutions. Current crises rest on the geological layers of previous comprehensive solutions. Anytime someone criticizes a solution by saying that it only addresses an immediate crisis while leaving the fundamental, long-term problems unresolved is guilty of either a) incredible arrogance or b) stunning naivete.

3. Which is not to say we should talk about long-term solutions. We should do so, however, with an appropriate sense of just how staggeringly difficult it is to achieve said solutions. Or, as I like to think of it, the "peace for our time" corollary.

N.B. -- not quite sure why I'm feeling cynical tonight. Hopefully the mood will pass.

[Photo of an NGO landcruiser in the Congo from Julien Harneis' photostream on flickr]

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Comments (5)

I'm working for the International Red Cross Red Crescent, so I'm partial. However, the problem you are describing is exactly why I love working for the Red Cross Red Crescent! The strength of the organization is *not* having to send expatriates to a country and a culture that they don't know. Instead, we have National Societies in 186 countries. And the volunteers in these National Societies are locals. They know their culture better than anyone else and are able to find solutions that are appropriate in their context better than anyone else. Of course that doesn't always work without problems either. And of course there are cases where we still send expatriate staff - either because there is a problem that is too large for the National Society to handle and/or to build the National Society's capacities. But I really believe in the concept. It also makes sense financially. For the money it costs to send me halfway around the world you can buy a lot of water pumps, chlorine tablets ...

Posted by Timo Luege on 10/13/2009 @ 12:12AM PT
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I don't know, Michael.

Sometimes, when I drift off into bored daydreams, I imagine a team of Swedish human rights lawyers visits the US for two weeks, surveys our federal and state prisons, and then proposes a total overhaul. And we do it.

Posted by Transitionl... . on 10/13/2009 @ 05:57PM PT
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12 months?

Some "advisers" go into a country, spend 12 days, and then dish out advisories...

Posted by Jessan Catre on 10/14/2009 @ 07:29AM PT
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Great post, Michael. It echos what many of us feel or have felt at different times. I think your last point is the crucial one:

We are relevant, as outsiders, to those conversations about, say, local governance in DRC. 'Cause, well, if things already worked fabulously well, we wouldn't need to be there. However, it is absolutely critical that we approach those situations with humility and respect and in a manner which communicates clearly that we are also learning right along with those whose capacity we say we're there to build.

... right. Enough preaching to the choir!

Posted by Tales From the Hood on 10/16/2009 @ 02:43PM PT
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Couldn't agree more, and many thanks for the kind words - means a lot

Posted by Michael Bear on 10/16/2009 @ 02:59PM PT
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Author

Michael has worked for NGOs in Afghanistan, across east and central Africa, and Iraq. Prior to going overseas, he worked on a project providing assistance to the United Nations on the application of International Humanitarian Law to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.