Diplomacia de Angola na Defesa do Interesse Nacional

Como um país procede à defesa do seu interesse nacional através da diplomacia:

"Angolan ambassador to the African Union, Manuel Augusto,

Luanda, 05/12 - Angola`s contribution at the 10th extraordinary session of the African Union (AU)`s executive council was marked by the defence of strategic interests of the Angolan diplomacy and support to positions that contribute for the improvement of the functioning of the continental organisation, said this Saturday the country`s Ambassador to the AU, Manuel Augusto. [...]"

Pode continuar aqui.

A Medicina ao Serviço da Diplomacia Pública para salvar Darfur

The best medicinePost-Senate, Bill Frist '74 says diplomacy can save Darfur

By Michael Scharff, Princetonian Staff Writer


"Bill Frist '74, shown here in Darfur, says that diplomacy is the answer to the region's crisis. Three months since leaving the Senate, Bill Frist '74 still struggles to tear himself away from the political scene. Though he said he planned to take a sabbatical from public life and announced in November that he would not seek the 2008 Republican nomination for president, after 12 years in the Senate, including four as majority leader, the Tennessee native is still very much engaged in the work of a statesman. In a wide-ranging interview, Frist recalled his years on Capitol Hill, voiced concern over the level of partisanship in Washington and spoke passionately about his medical work in Africa, calling it "a currency for peace." Frist's time in the Senate was marked by significant victories and major controversies. He was active in the success of the Medicare prescription drug program and the confirmation of two conservative Supreme Court justices. But he also found himself entangled in scandals for the alleged mishandling of some financial assets and his at-a-distance diagnosis of Terri Schiavo, a brain-damaged Florida woman whose husband petitioned the courts for the removal of the feeding tube that kept her alive. In his three months of post-Senate activity, Frist has focused on medicine, striving to use his work as a physician to effect broader international change. His activities as a doctor and as a politician intertwine, as he performs surgeries in rural African villages while simultaneously striving to have a hand in the political conflicts plaguing the continent. Frist has become a medical ambassador to Africa, attempting to build personal relationships at the ground level to bring nations closer together. "I will focus on what I consider one of the great needs before the American people in the country now, and that is to improve public diplomacy," he said, explaining that he uses his visits to call greater attention to the needs of the African continent, especially in the Darfur region of Sudan. [...]"

Continua aqui

Nada Dizer

Artigo de opinião com algum interesse, publicado no The Age:

"In the world of diplomacy, it's often best to say nothing

May 13, 2007

AN AMBASSADOR, as the English writer and diplomat Sir Henry Wooton once said, is an honest man sent abroad to lie for his country. The words, well-worn since first uttered in the 17th century, still convey the world of diplomacy, where ambiguity and deceit are often more effective than truth and candour.
Comments in The Sunday Age today by Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Robert McClelland are, on one level, unremarkable. The proposition that Australia can't assume the United States will remain the dominant power in Asia "for ever and a day" is a statement of the obvious.
Based on that proposition, he can reasonably argue Australia should not risk alienating Beijing and instead should build diplomatic architecture that includes China and encourages it to play by the rules. So far so good.
But if Mr McClelland's comments are unremarkable to a lay person, honest even, they also lack diplomatic finesse. In foreign policy, it's sometimes best not to state the obvious, especially when Labor asserts that the US alliance is central to its foreign policy platform and Washington's strategic role in Asia is essential, enduring and benign.
Mr McClelland's words also violate a universal rule of politics: never enter a hypothetical debate. In the process, he risks creating a potential problem for his leader, Kevin Rudd.
That problem is one of perceptions. Recent conservative commentary about the direction of foreign policy under Labor has insinuated that Mr Rudd is somehow soft on China.
Cited as evidence is Mr Rudd's opposition to a defence treaty with Japan, and his objection to a formal security dialogue involving Australia, the United States, India and Japan. Both moves could be seen as attempts to encircle China.
Bizarrely, mention is also made of Mr Rudd's fluency in Mandarin, as if it's a liability, not an asset. It says something about our parochial political culture that the judgement and loyalty of a potential leader can be questioned simply because he, unlike most of us, speaks more than one language.
The Government has not joined the conservative commentariat in openly suggesting Mr Rudd is kowtowing. To do so would be undiplomatic towards China, although Mr Rudd's critics presumably wouldn't construe this as subservience.
The Government, we hope, knows better than to overtly play the anti-China card for domestic political gain. It boasts that, since it was elected 10 years ago, relations with China have never been better.
In 2003, Prime Minister John Howard, an old Cold War warrior, hosted a visit by President Hu Jintao and we witnessed the once unthinkable spectacle of a communist dictator addressing a joint sitting of our democratic Parliament.
Mr McClelland could learn something from the experience of Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who stumbled in 2004 by undiplomatically suggesting Australia might not back the US in a hypothetical war with China over Taiwan.
When it comes to diplomacy, some things are best left unsaid."

Nicolas Sarkozy: Eleições Presidenciais

"Je serai le président de tous les Français"

Discurso de Vitória

Mes chers compatriotes
En m’adressant à vous ce soir, dans ce moment qui est, chacun le comprend, exceptionnel dans la vie d’un homme, je ressens une immense émotion.

J’éprouve depuis mon plus jeune âge la fierté indicible d’appartenir à une grande, vieille et belle nation, la France. Je l’aime comme on aime les êtres chers qui nous ont tout donné. Maintenant c’est à mon tour de tout lui donner.

Ce soir ma pensée va aux millions de Français qui aujourd’hui m’ont témoigné leur confiance. Je veux leur dire qu’ils m’ont fait le plus grand honneur qui soit à mes yeux en me jugeant. digne de présider aux destinées de la France.

Ma pensée va à tous ceux qui m’ont accompagné dans cette campagne. Je veux leur dire ma gratitude et mon affection.

Ma pensée va à Madame Royal. Je veux lui dire que j’ai du respect pour elle et pour ses idées dans lesquelles tant de Français se sont reconnus.

Ma pensée va à tous les Français qui n’ont pas voté pour moi. Je veux leur dire que par-delà le combat politique, par-delà les divergences d’opinions, il n’y a pour moi qu’une seule France.

Je veux leur dire que je serai le Président de tous les Français, que je parlerai pour chacun d’entre eux. Je veux leur dire que ce soir, ce n’est pas la victoire d’une France contre une autre. Il n’y a pour moi ce soir qu’une seule victoire, celle de la démocratie, celle des valeurs qui nous unissent, celle de l’idéal qui nous rassemble. Ma priorité sera de tout mettre en œuvre pour que les Français aient toujours envie de se parler, de se comprendre, de travailler ensemble.

Le peuple français s’est exprimé. Il a choisi de rompre avec les idées, les habitudes et les comportements du passé. Je veux réhabiliter le travail, l’autorité, la morale, le respect, le mérite. Je veux remettre à l’honneur la nation et l’identité nationale. Je veux rendre aux Français la fierté d’être Français. Je veux en finir avec la repentance qui est une forme de haine de soi, et la concurrence des mémoires qui nourrit la haine des autres.

Le peuple français a choisi le changement. Ce changement je le mettrai en œuvre parce que c’est le mandat que j’ai reçu du peuple et parce que la France en a besoin. Mais je le ferai avec tous les Français. Je le ferai dans un esprit d’union et de fraternité. Je le ferai sans que personne n’ait le sentiment d’être exclu, d’être laissé pour compte. Je le ferai avec la volonté que chacun puisse trouver sa place dans notre République, que chacun s’y sente reconnu et respecté dans sa dignité de citoyen et dans sa dignité d’homme. Tous ceux que la vie a brisés, ceux que la vie a usés doivent savoir qu’ils ne seront pas abandonnés, qu’ils seront aidés, qu’ils seront secourus. Ceux qui ont le sentiment que quoi qu’ils fassent ils ne pourront pas s’en sortir doivent être sûrs qu’ils ne seront pas laissés de côté et qu’ils auront les mêmes chances que les autres.

J’appelle tous les Français par-delà leurs partis, leurs croyances, leurs origines, à s’unir à moi pour que la France se remette en mouvement.
J’appelle chacun à ne pas se laisser enfermer dans l’intolérance et dans le sectarisme, mais à s’ouvrir aux autres, à ceux qui ont des idées différentes, à ceux qui ont d’autres convictions.

Je veux lancer un appel à nos partenaires européens, auxquels notre destin est lié, pour leur dire que toute ma vie j’ai été européen, que je crois en la construction européenne et que ce soir la France est de retour en Europe. Mais je les conjure d’entendre la voix des peuples qui veulent être protégés. Je les conjure de ne pas rester sourds à la colère des peuples qui perçoivent l’Union Européenne non comme une protection mais comme le cheval de Troie de toutes les menaces que portent en elles les transformations du monde.

Je veux lancer un appel à nos amis Américains pour leur dire qu’ils peuvent compter sur notre amitié qui s’est forgée dans les tragédies de l’Histoire que nous avons affrontées ensemble. Je veux leur dire que la France sera toujours à leurs côtés quand ils auront besoin d’elle. Mais je veux leur dire aussi que l’amitié c’est accepter que ses amis puissent penser différemment, et qu’une grande nation comme les Etats-Unis a le devoir de ne pas faire obstacle à la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique, mais au contraire d’en prendre la tête parce que ce qui est en jeu c’est le sort de l’humanité tout entière.

Je veux lancer un appel à tous les peuples de la Méditerranée pour leur dire que c’est en Méditerranée que tout se joue, et que nous devons surmonter toutes les haines pour laisser la place à un grand rêve de paix et de civilisation. Je veux leur dire que le temps est venu de bâtir ensemble une Union Méditerranéenne qui sera un trait d’union entre l’Europe et l’Afrique.

Je veux lancer à tous les Africains un appel fraternel pour leur dire que nous voulons les aider à vaincre la maladie, la famine et la pauvreté et à vivre en paix. Je veux leur dire que nous déciderons ensemble d’une politique d’immigration maîtrisée et d’une politique de développement ambitieuse.

Je veux lancer un appel à tous ceux qui dans le monde croient aux valeurs de tolérance, de liberté, de démocratie et d’humanisme, à tous ceux qui sont persécutés par les tyrannies et par les dictatures, à tous les enfants et à toutes les femmes martyrisés dans le monde pour leur dire que la France sera à leurs côtés, qu’ils peuvent compter sur elle.

Mes chers compatriotes, nous allons écrire ensemble une nouvelle page de notre histoire. Je suis sûr qu’elle sera grande et belle, et du fond du cœur ce soir je vous dis :

Vive la République !

Vive la France !

SARKOZY ELEITO - A Nova Geração

Assim se dá início à nova geração de políticos e de política. Estejamos atentos porque a Europa mudou, a ideologia mudou, a política mudou, e o nosso país também vai mudar (só que ainda não perceberam isso, pelo simples facto de se discutir a lógica da não lógica).

Venezuela IMF & World Bank

De acordo com notícia do diário francês Le Monde:

Le Venezuela d'Hugo Chavez claque la porte du FMI et de la Banque mondiale
LEMONDE.FR avec AFP, Reuters et AP 01.05.07 08h00 • Mis à jour le 01.05.07 08h04

"Dans une allocution prononcée lundi, à la veille de la fête du travail, Hugo Chavez a annoncé qu'il souhaitait que le Venezuela quitte la Banque mondiale et le FMI. Il compte créer une institution bancaire régionale, financée par les revenus que le Venezuela tire de ses hydrocarbures, qui se substituerait aux deux institutions responsables, selon lui, de la pauvreté en Amérique du sud. La veille, déjà, le président vénézuélien avait affirmé devant les représentants des pays alliés du Venezuela que l'Amérique latine irait mieux sans la Banque mondiale et le FMI."

Public Diplomacy

Nordeste do Brasil & USA

COMÉRCIO (12/4/2007)
Cônsul dos EUA fala sobre exportação

Cônsul dos Estados Unidos para o Nordeste do Brasil, proferiu palestra na Fiec (Foto: Francisco Viana)

"A cônsul dos Estados Unidos para o Nordeste do Brasil, Diana Page, realizou palestra sobre ‘‘Impacto dos Custos em Setores do Comércio Exterior Cearense’’, em evento promovido pela Federação das Indústrias do Estado do Ceará (Fiec), ontem à noite, na sede da entidade. O evento foi realizado pelo Centro Internacional de Negócios (CNI), unidade subsidiada à Fiec e que tem como missão capacitar e estimular empresas industriais do Ceará a investirem no mercado de exportação.A solenidade contou com as presenças do presidente da Fiec, Roberto Macedo; do secretário de Desenvolvimento Econômico da Prefeitura de Fortaleza, José de Freitas Uchoa; e da diretora da Usaid, Jennifer Adams.A cônsul apresentou um estudo onde identifica as perdas verificadas ao longo de corredores logísticos selecionados, analisando o caminho percorrido pela mercadoria desde a fábrica até o destino final - porto ou aeroporto.No relatório, apresentado pela cônsul, o Estado do Ceará apresenta um custo total de perdas no valor de US$ 10,553 milhões, um impacto que representa um grande obstáculo para o desenvolvimento da economia cearense, afetando negativamente a massa salarial e transferindo para empregados e produtores as perdas detectadas.

No estudo, três produtos - calçados, a castanha de caju e as frutas - foram selecionados pelo peso econômico que incidem nas exportações cearenses, sendo a fruta a que responde com maior representatividade no setor, 50% da receita referente à exportação de frutas no Brasil.

Experiência

Diana Page é mestre em Política Pública Internacional pela Johns Hopkins University e é bacharel em Ciências Políticas pela University de Michigan. Assumiu o consulado norte-americano em Recife em agosto de 2005, trabalhou por quatro anos na embaixada dos Estados Unidos na Cidade do México, sendo dois na área da diplomacia pública.Iniciou sua carreira diplomática em 1990 como vice-cônsul em Georgetown, Guyana e entre 1992 e 1994 trabalhou na Embaixada dos Estados Unidos em Brasília na área de Direitos Humanos. "

Globe Forum

A seguir atentamente o que se está a discutir e a fazer neste mundo:

Globe Forum is the most influential platform for marketing communication

1. GLOBE FORUM 2007Apr 18-20, Berns & China TheaterStockholm Sweden




2. 50 Workshops / 100 roundtable discussions




3. Speedmeetings




4. 500 business leaders from India, China and EE




5. Tradeshow
   

7 Novas Maravilhas do Mundo / N7W

No site New 7 Wonders of the World cabe ao cidadão comum votar e escolher as 7 novas maravilhas.

O caminho para a globalização também é votar, ter voz, participar no futuro do mundo.

Reino Unido e Irão: futuro?

Trata-se de uma questão delicada cuja resolução poderá ditar o rumo do Irão e do Médio Oriente.

Notícia:
Associated Press

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's Arabic-language channel said Sunday it planned to air "confessions" from two of the 15 British sailors seized by Iran 10 days ago, as the British government said it was in direct contact with Iran over the captive crew.
In Tehran, about 200 Iranian youths threw rocks and firecrackers at the British Embassy in a protest on Sunday, calling for the expulsion of the country's ambassador because of the standoff.
The satellite channel Al-Alam said it would broadcast excerpts of what it said were "confessions" from two of the crew. The station broadcast video of the Britons earlier this week, including footage of a captured marine apologizing for entering Iranian waters "without permission."
The report Sunday did not say when the latest statements would air or name the sailors.
The crew of sailors and marines was detained by Iranian naval units March 23 while patrolling for smugglers as part of a U.N.-mandated force patrolling the Persian Gulf. Iran insists the sailors had trespassed into its waters, but Britain says the team was in Iraqi waters.
British Defense Secretary Des Browne said his government was in "direct, bilateral communication with the Iranians." A Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said Browne was referring to letters and other contacts between diplomats, rather than any new face-to-face talks.
Browne, on a visit to Afghanistan, said Britain had "the support of almost the whole international community" in calling for the release of its personnel.
Britain maintains they were in Iraqi waters when detained, but Iran has contended the Britons entered its waters illegally.
In Iran, hardliners called for their government to remain firm.
At Sunday's protest, several dozen policemen prevented the protesters from entering the embassy compound, although a few briefly scaled a fence outside the compound's walls before being pushed back, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
The protesters chanted "Death to Britain" and "Death to America" as they hurled stones into the courtyard of the embassy. They also demanded that the Iranian government expel the British ambassador and close down the embassy, calling it a "den of spies."
Britain's Foreign Office said there had been no damage to the compound.
A British Foreign Office spokeswoman in London, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with government rules, said diplomats were working normally inside the embassy.
"There is a police presence outside and there is no risk to those inside," said the spokeswoman.
British government and defense officials refused to discuss a report that claimed a Royal Navy captain or commodore would be sent to Tehran as a special envoy to negotiate the return of the personnel.
The official would deliver an assurance that British naval crews would never deliberately enter Iranian waters without permission, the Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.
Transport Minister Douglas Alexander said Britain was engaged in "exploring the potential for dialogue with the Iranians."
"The responsible way forward is to continue the often unglamorous, but important and quiet diplomatic work to get our personnel home," Alexander told the British Broadcasting Corp.'s Sunday AM program.
British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett appeared to soften rhetoric against Iran Saturday — though she stopped far short of the apology sought by many in Iran.
"I think everyone regrets that this position has arisen," Beckett said in Bremen, Germany, before returning to England. "What we want is a way out of it."
President Bush on Saturday called for the release of the sailors and marines and labeling their capture "inexcusable behavior."
"Iran must give back the hostages," Bush said. "They're innocent, they did nothing wrong, and they were summarily plucked out of waters."
Eight British sailors and seven marines were detained by Iranian naval units March 23 while patrolling for smugglers near the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab, a waterway that has long been a disputed dividing line between Iraq and Iran.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called world powers "arrogant" for refusing to apologize.
"Instead of apologizing over trespassing by British forces, the world arrogant powers issue statements and deliver speeches," Iran's official IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during a speech in the southeastern city of Andinmeshk.
A poll published in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper found that 66 percent of respondents trusted Blair and Beckett to resolve the crisis, while 28 percent did not. Only 7 percent thought the government should be preparing to use military force.
Pollster ICM interviewed 762 adults by telephone March 30 and 31. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.
___
Associated Press writers Jill Lawless and David Stringer in London, and Deb Riechmann in Camp David, Md., contributed to this report.

Presidente da AG da NATO visita Ucrânia

Notícia:

NATO

NATO PA President José Lello (Portugal) delivered the keynote address at a NATO Roundtable on “Parliament’s Role in National Security and Defence” which took place in Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday 26 March.

Mr Lello also had the opportunity while in Kyiv to hold meetings with the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, Oleksandr Moroz, and members of the Ukrainian Delegation to the NATO PA, led by Hryhoriy Illyashov. He also held informal meetings with other Rada members and media figures. Speaking at the conclusion of his visit, Mr Lello said, 'Thirty years ago, my own country, Portugal, went through the transition from authoritarianism to democracy so I can speak from first-hand experience about the process of introducing a new culture into the security sector.' Noting that this was the first visit to Ukraine by an Assembly President since last year?s parliamentary elections, Mr Lello said that he had been very pleased to reaffirm the Assembly's commitment to its close relationship with the Verkhovna Rada. 'It is for Ukraine to choose its course and our members stand ready to work with their Rada colleagues, and provide any advice and assistance that might be asked for.'

Presidência Alemã: negociações UE para reactivar diálogo entre Israel e a Palestina

Fotografia: agêcnia Reuters

Notícias:

Uma posição assumida claramente pela presidência alemã, e que Portugal deverá dar a sua continuidade.

International Heral Tribune - 01 de Abril de 2007

JERUSALEM: In her first trip to the Middle East as the EU president, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany offered Europe's help in bringing Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table, and in trying to build on a new burst of international efforts to restart peace talks.
Merkel also called on Iran to immediately release 15 British sailors and marines seized in the Gulf on March 23. "Britain has the full solidarity of the European Union," Merkel said in a speech at Hebrew University. "We demand the immediate release of the 15 British soldiers."
Merkel, who was meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders on Sunday, said the Europeans were ready to offer support, but ultimately the two sides must resolve their differences themselves.
"The Europeans must not assume that they could force a solution. We can't and I don't want to do it," she said in her speech. "Within my abilities, I would like to support the sides to walk the path toward peace."
Her visit came after the Arab world renewed a land-for-recognition offer to Israel last week. Since then, the Quartet of Mideast mediators - the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia - has said it hopes to arrange a meeting with moderate Arab states, Israel and the Palestinians before the summer. Merkel , who now holds the rotating EU presidency, plays an important Quartet role. [...]

A posição japonesa no Médio Oriente

De acordo com fontes oficiais do MNE do Japão, , a presença japonesa no Médio Oriente, ao contrário da dos norte-americanos, tem vindo a revelar uma maior capacidade de comunicação e de pacificação, numa região sensível. In "Report: Foreign minister says Westeners can't be as successful in Mideast as Japanese", International Herald Tribune, do dia 22 de Março de 2007:

"Japan's outspoken foreign minister said "blue-eyed, blond" Westerners probably will not be as successful as the Japanese in Middle East diplomacy, media reported Thursday.
Taro Aso made the remarks Wednesday during a speech in southwestern Japan, business daily Nikkei reported. National newspaper Mainichi carried a similar report.
"Japan is doing what the Americans can't do. The Japanese are trusted. It's probably no good with blue eyes and blond hair," he was quoted as saying by the papers, referring to projects in Jordan River Rift Valley initiated by Japan.
"Luckily, we have yellow faces. We have no history of exploitation there or ... fired a machine gun for once," Aso said, according to the reports. [...]"

Vide no MNE do Japão toda a condução diplomática japonesa no processo do Médio Oriente.

Agora Vox 5º Poder

Uma outra forma de praticar a diplomacia pública:


« Les premières rencontres du 5e pouvoir »
le 24 mars 2007 à L’Usine - Saint-Denis http://journee.agoravox.fr

"A l’aube des échéances électorales, il convient d’une part de définir le « 5e pouvoir » et d’autre part de s’interroger sur sa place dans la vie publique de notre pays. Ainsi, cette journée permettra de revenir sur la définition du journalisme dit « citoyen » et sur les interactions possibles avec le journalisme professionnel. Car il s’agit bien d’envisager un avenir informationnel fait d’échanges et de complémentarités. Enfin, les intervenants rappelleront combien la technique a favorisé ce phénomène et confirmé sa place dans le paysage médiatique français.
Les objectifs de cette journée :
Présenter le bilan des deux années d’existence d’AgoraVox en rendant hommage aux 10 000 rédacteurs bénévoles qui ont permis l’émergence du premier media citoyen européen
Donner la parole à de nombreux experts (spécialistes des médias, politiques, chercheurs...)
Permettre enfin un débat entre les deux forces en présence : les journalistes professionnels et les journalistes « citoyens » ."

Real Instituto Elcano

Real Instituto Elcano

Um exemplo de Diplomacia Pública executada por Espanha, do doméstico à arena internacional:

"Misión y Valores

La misión esencial del Real Instituto Elcano es servir de foco de pensamiento y de generación de ideas que resulten útiles para los responsables políticos, los dirigentes de las instituciones públicas y privadas interesadas y la formación de la opinión pública. Esta tarea se basa en un compromiso de sus miembros con unos valores compartidos:
La consecución de la paz en las relaciones internacionales.
La cooperación económica y la solidaridad entre los Estados y los pueblos.
El respeto a los derechos humanos.
La promoción de procesos de transición y consolidación de las democracias y de los valores democráticos.
La concordia o, al menos, tolerancia, entre Estados, pueblos y, eventualmente, civilizaciones.

Objetivos

La misión del Real Instituto Elcano supone un punto de partida desde el que desarrollar los siguientes objetivos:

El estudio del escenario internacional, a fin de elaborar y producir análisis, documentos de trabajo e informes con los que contribuir a la toma de decisiones.
La difusión de los mismos para conformar y participar en el debate público y social, tanto nacional como global.
Servir de foro de encuentro y debate, garantizando así una mayor y mejor comunicación entre agentes públicos y privados en el ámbito de las relaciones internacionales y de seguridad.
Tratar de aglutinar a su alrededor los programas, proyectos e ideas de la comunidad estratégica española y, en la medida de la posible, de la internacional."

Política Externa o que é?

Um dia, o ex-Ministro dos Negócios Estrangeiros Franco Nogueira, num determinado livro, Diálogos Interditos, referiu com uma certa preocupação a dificuldade em definir o próprio conceito de política externa:

“Política externa – o que é? Parece inocente a pergunta, e acaso inútil, porque se supõe a resposta conhecida de todos.”

Mas, uma senhora, na área das coisas e causas políticas ao serviço de uma administração, supostamente não só compreendeu como também veio definir e sobretudo aplicar nas vertentes soft e hard.

Madeleine Albright, actual Presidente do National Democratic Institute for International Affairs entende por política externa o seguinte:

“Em 2001, ao deixar o Governo, regressei a um amor antigo –as salas de aula da Universidade. Em Georgetown, dou um curso por semestre, alternando entre os alunos de pós-graduação e os de licenciatura. No início de cada curso explico aos meus estudantes que o principal objectivo da política externa é o de persuadir os outros países a fazerem aquilo que nós queremos. Para esse fim, um presidente ou secretário de Estado tem ao seu alcance uma série de ferramentas que vão desde a força militar bruta até ao árduo trabalho de negociar, passando pela simples argumentação lógica.”

In –Os Poderosos e o Todo-Poderoso. Reflexões Sobre a América, Deus e o Mundo. Algés: Ed. Difel, 2006, pág. 29.

Será que ainda não conseguimos aprender nada com isto? Pelos vistos, estaremos numa área de uma coisa chamada de argumentação e de algo aparentemente simples e lógica. E mesmo assim continuamos sem perceber o rumo deste mundo e da importância vital de uma definição da política externa, da defesa do interesse nacional, ou seja, devemos dar início àquilo em que muitos países aparentemente parecem ter: capital humano, sem Marx claro, de acordo com as últimas indicações da OCDE.

Human Capital

How what you know shapes your life
"Human Capital", published on 20 February 2007, is the first in a planned new series of books from the OECD entitled OECD Insights. Drawing on the unrivalled work and research of the OECD, books in the series offer insights on global issues using simple and non-technical language.
The world's economy is changing. Globalisation means jobs move from country to country, while computers and advanced communications are changing the way business works - and the sort of work we do.
Today, the value of skilled, complex and creative work is growing fast. As a result, economic success for countries and for individuals relies increasingly on human capital - our knowledge, skills learning, talents and abilities.
How can societies raise human capital and ensure everyone gets the education they need at every stage of life, from early childhood to adulthood?

Forum Social Mundial 2007 - Nairobi

Fotografias AP e AFP

Decorre em Nairobi (20 a 25 de Janeiro), o 7º Forum Mundial anti-capitalista. O primeiro dia ficou marcado com uma manifestação de cerca de 80 000 pessoas.

Este Forum pretende demonstrar como o mundo tem vindo a aprofundar o fosso existente entre os mais necessitados e os grandes detentores de poder que pretendem controlar o avanço da globalização. Para isso, todos os meios são válidos, desde a imprensa ao apelo de cada cibernauta.

No site oficial pode-se ler o seguite:

The 7th edition of the World Social Forum brings the world to Africa as activists, social movements, networks, coalitions and other progressive forces from Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Caribbean, North America, Europe and all corners of the African continent converge in Nairobi, Kenya for five days of cultural resistance and celebration; panels, workshops, symposia, processions, film nights and much much more; beginning on the 20th of January and wrapping up on the 25th of January 2007.
From its modest origins in Porto Alegre in the year 2001, the World Social Forum has mushroomed into a global counter-force challenging the assumptions and diktats of imperialism and its associated neo-liberal policies that have over the decades, imposed colonialism and neo-colonialism; devastated Southern economies; bolstered the disastrous and repressive reigns of assorted tin pot dictatorships; marginalized women; disenfranchised youth; intensified the destruction of the environment; unleashed bloody, inhuman and needless military conflicts in nation after nation, region after region and deepened the exploitation of poor peoples around the world.

Rallying around the clarion call of Another World Is Possible, the World Social Forum has placed social justice, international solidarity, gender equality, peace and defence of the environment on the agenda of the world’s peoples. From Porto Alegre to Mumbai to Bamako to Caracas, Karachi and now Nairobi, the forces and the contingents of the World Social Forum have collectively expanded the democratic spaces of those seeking concrete, sustainable and progressive alternatives to imperialist globalization.

Yet the World Social Forum process is NOT the latest attempt to create a monolithic “world revolutionary vanguard movement” nor is it a reincarnation of an international “united front” seeking to overthrow, one by one, governments around the world. Such a notion would be a complete negation of the very essence and concept of the World Social Forum as outlined in its Charter of Principles. Nay, the World Social Forum is not that at all, far from it.

Rather, the World Social Forum is, to use a Kiswahili word, a global Jukwaa, in other words, an international PLATFORM, to quote from the Porto Alegre Charter “an open meeting place where groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialism, but engaged in building a planetary society centred on the human person, come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective action.”
WSF Nairobi 2007 will be an opportunity to showcase Africa and her social movements; Africa and her unbroken history of struggle against foreign domination, colonialism and neo-colonialism; Africa and her rich heritage of natural wealth, cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity; Africa and her reputation for embracing communities from around the world; Africa and her contributions to world civilization; Africa and her role in the quest for another possible, more progressive global human society.
The theme for the 7th edition of the World Social Forum is “People’s Struggles, People’s Alternatives”.
Words alone can not capture the vibrancy, the potency, the promise and the excitement of a World Social Forum event. There is no alternative to being there, amidst it all, participating, congregating, conversing, marching, singing, laughing, dancing, dreaming, networking and strategizing with sisters and brothers, friends and neighbours, comrades and colleagues from five continents, across oceans, mountains, deserts and rivers and over one hundred and forty countries.
So please come on over and be with us here in Nairobi, Africa, from January 20th to the 25th, 2007 as we recreate the magic of the World Social Forum.

Agenda: Diplomacia Pública EUA

Enquanto o mundo discute, ainda, a questão Saddam, a administração Bush converge a sua atenção para a diplomacia pública. O US State Department e a Public Relations Coaliton organizam uma cimeira, nos dias 9 e 10 de Janeiro, no sentido de analisar a conjunção de sinergias entre o sector privado, como forma de apoio, e o aparelho diplomático norte-americano para incrementar e melhorar a eficácia da diplomacia pública. A cimeira conta com a participação de empresas, de académicos, de políticos etc...

Vide sobre este assunto:

State Dept., PR Coalition summit targets US private sector support

"About 150 corporate communications executives, PR agency heads, State Department and other government officials, business leaders, academics, and others will participate in the event, which begins tomorrow with an evening reception at the White House. At the State Department on Wednesday, participants will first discuss various "best practices" of government-private sector, then divide into smaller groups to discuss other ways the private sector can aid public diplomacy. Karen Hughes, undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, and Dina Habib Powell, assistant secretary for educational and cultural affairs, will lead the State Department's presence. "We've really made reaching out to the private sector a key priority," Powell said. "Ultimately, it will be through forging partnerships with the business community, academia, non-government organizations, and Americans who host exchange students that we can amplify our mission of promoting mutual understanding." The PR Coalition, which has about 50,000 members and includes about 20 different organizations, proposed the summit, noted PR Coalition chair Jim Murphy. Every few years, it hosts a summit on a topic of general interest, such as corporate governance and diversity." [...]