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Segment 1: Simply Incapable of Declaring War.

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll show is Dr. Brien Hallett, an associate professor at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace & Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawaii. Dr. Hallett began his career as an English professor but soon got hooked on the topic of war and peace, and ended up switching gears to attain his Ph.D. in Political Science. His latest book is titled Declaring War: Congress, the President, and What the Constitution Does Not Say.

Dr. Hallett tells us that the constitution says Congress should make the decision for war or peace, but that actually never happens. He thinks Congress is simply incapable. In fact, the U.S. has been unable to declare war since 1789, even though we have been involved in numerous wars since that time.

Segment 2: A Constitutional Duty.

Essentially the President is allowed to start a war without asking permission from Congress. If Congress actually undertook its constitutional duty to argue and debate over the declaration or war, we would have a much more public and robust discussion about whether or not we should use force.

Dr. Hallett believes there are two main reasons this does not happen.  First of all, for 5,000 years Kings and Emperors have made this decision. Everyone expects the war leaders to make the decision whether or not to go to war. Secondly, Congress is too large and busy, and its primary function is to pass domestic laws. It is not built to accomplish a function such as declaring war. It is simply unable.

Segment 3: A Fourth Branch of Congress.

If Congress is not taking on the authority to declare war, then the people of the U.S. have very little say on whether or not we use force. This is a fundamental problem and a major flaw in the constitution. Dr. Hallett thinks we should change the constitution and he is proposing removing the power to make foreign policy (and declare war) out of Congress and establishing it in an independent branch of government. This fourth branch of Congress would have 50 members and would be elected by the state legislatures. Their job would be to conduct foreign policy and review the relationships between the U.S. and countries around the world. They would identify problems early and solve them by peaceful means.

Segment 4: Declaring War: Congress, the President, and What the Constitution Does Not Say.

Dr. Hallett says his book is meant to be disruptive, and he acknowledges that his proposal is, currently at least, politically impossible. He is just trying to get people to consider the problem and look at alternatives. The first step is to start the debate. It is not a question of political will; it’s a question of political structure. Congress is structured so that it cannot worry about foreign affairs. It can’t do what the 2^nd Continental Congress did. That was a small group who would get together and discuss problems and find solutions. Today’s Congress is large and complicated - which is a good thing for domestic policy – but it doesn’t work for foreign affairs.

To listen to the complete interview:

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Segment 1: The Complexities of Foreign Policies.

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Kathleen Brush, an author, senior executive and global business consultant. Kathleen’s articles have been published by CNBC, Fox Business, The Washington Post, Financial Times China, Business Week and Entrepreneur. Her book, The World Made Easy, is designed to help us understand the complexities of foreign policies throughout the world.

Kathleen studied the regions of the world (194 countries) and evaluated their different political systems, economic systems, social cultural systems and significant events in history. Her goal was to simplify the systems to achieve easier understanding as well as answer questions like, “Why are there uprisings in the middle east and North Africa?” and “Why do people do things differently in China?” for example. Kathleen believes if a country is running fine with their current systems and their people are not revolting, the U.S. shouldn’t get involved. However, there are many brutal regimes in the world. There are still labor camps and places where people get shot for opposing the government. The solution is continuing to foster education so that people can self-determine what type of government is best for their own country.

Segment 2: Africa Divided.

The division of Africa in the late 1890s has caused more misery and conflict on that continent than we can even imagine. The map was formed without any consideration or concern for ethno-linguistic groups. It’s a source of a great number of tribal conflicts to this day. The continent has been deprived of effective leadership as well. Again, education is one of the keys.

Segment 3: Afghanistan’s Struggle Continues.

The Afghani people have been fighting for centuries. Kathleen believes they might not even WANT to live in peace. Fighting is what they do well. This is a country with many tribal groups and that has been geopolitically strategic for the last 1,000 years. A destabilized Afghanistan is of political interest to the Pakistani military, and China is now investing millions of dollars into Afghanistan to extract the mineral resources. The unemployment rate is 75%. Add to that the geopolitical problems (it has one of the most corrupt governments on the planet), an extremely high literacy rate and one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world and it is clear they need a lot of help (i.e. economic development and education) to be able to move forward.

Segment 4: Held to a Higher Standard.

Throughout history, when women became educated and established themselves professionally, they were able to make a bigger impact. However, even in the U.S. we still have challenges with equality. Kathleen found when she conducted business internationally she was seen as an AMERICAN first and a WOMAN second, which made it easier for her to work in foreign countries. Because the U.S. is #1 economically and militarily, we are held to a higher standard and need to step up to the plate.

To listen to the entire interview: 

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Segment 1: We Live in a World of Stories.

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Dr. Amy Zalman (http://strategic-narrative.net/). Amy has worked to develop more culturally astute approaches to national security for over a decade. She is an expert on the strategic role of language and narratives in international affairs and violent conflict, and an authority on how the U.S. can better understand end engage foreign publics.

Amy has always had three enduring interests: language, political violence, and learning about foreign places. She finds that poetry and storytelling speaks to metaphor which in turn speaks to a different part of our brain. This enables people to look at problems – and solutions – in creative ways, which is crucial in the political and security arena. It is important to understand that we live inside this flow in order to work with others and have a positive influence.

Segment 2: The Myth of Redemptive Violence.

There is a myth in society that violence redeems evil and brings chaos under control. This is the “myth of redemptive violence” and it permeates every cartoon and every dramatic movie in society today. This plays out in our political affairs and in our culture. People respond to conflict that results in violence rather than stepping back and asking questions, learning skills, engaging in dialogue and thinking about possible implications. As a culture, we think violence is the answer to all of our problems. Yet, when we engage in violence we find that we spend enormous amounts of time and money trying to control events with power and force when we actually have no control at all. This “myth of redemptive violence” is one of the reasons that peace is so hard to achieve.

Segment 3: The Struggle to Reframe our Thinking.

Amy says there is a debate in Washington right now about whether the U.S. is in decline and how it should project itself within the world. We are in the middle of a battle to decide what kind of country we need to be in the world: one of community or one that continues to use force. Amy speaks with high-level personnel in the defense department and helps them reframe their thinking and their national stories. She often asks them, “Why would another country want YOUR story? They have their OWN national story.”

Segment 4: The Three Ways to Increase Power.

Strategic narrative within conflict resolution requires treading carefully around the parties and respecting their missions. There are three ways to be powerful enough to get people to do what you want them to do: you can coerce them, you can induce them with carrots on sticks, or you can attract/seduce them. You can get them to want what you want because you are so attractive. Amy encourages the military personnel to think about their own culture and who they are. This evokes some of the skills that they have with their own identity, which in turn helps them become more effective at peacemaking.

To listen to the complete interview:

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