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Global Newsstand: Essays, Arguments, and Opinions from around the World
Author(s): Anthony Giddens, Daniel Kimmage and Kathleen Ridolfo
Source: Foreign Policy, No. 163 (Nov. - Dec., 2007), pp. 86-88, 90
Published by: Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLC
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NE1:WS
[

ESSAYS,

STbAN
ARG

U M

ENTS,

Doubting

AN

OP

IN

Diversity's

O
I

N S

FRO

ARO

U N D

TH

WO

R LD

Value

By AnthonyGiddens
D ScandinavianPolitical Studies,
Vol. 30,No. 2, June2007
F

romParis,France, toParis,
Texas, almost allWestern
countries are becoming
more ethnicallydiverse.The main
reason is risinglevelsof immigra
tion. The flow of people across
borders can stimulateinnovation,
aswell as
dynamism,and creativity,
help reducethesocial and econom
But
of decliningbirthrates.
iceffects
pose a
does growingheterogeneity
threatto overall social solidarity?
Harvard polit
Accordingto leading
ical scientistRobert Putnam, the
answermay verywell be yes.
In an article titled"E Pluribus
Unum: Diversity and Community
in theTwenty-First
Century,"pub
lished in the June 2007 issue of
Scandinavian Political Studies,
Putnam elaborateson his celebrated
work on social capital-defined
most simplyas socialnetworksupon
which people depend.He analyzes
material froma large,nationwide
AnthonyGiddens was directorfrom1997
to 2003 at the London School of Eco
nomics and Political Science,where he is
currentlyprofessor emeritusof sociology.
He isalso lifefellowat King's College at the
Universityof Cambridge and a member
ofBritain'sHouse of Lords.
86

studyof ethnicdiversitycarriedout with reduced trustinneighbors in

intheUnitedStatesin2000. Putnam poor, crime-riddenareas, just as
crime-free
finds that trust in others is high much as inrich,relatively
as such,
and social capital correspondingly areas. It isethnicdifference,
thatreducestrustand social capital.
well-developed in homogeneous
white Putnam'sconclusion,pithilyput, is
communities,such as largely
that"[m]anyAmericans today are
suburbs. Both are low inmore
with diversity."
diverse neighborhoods, such as uncomfortable
areas.
For social liberals, of whom
ethnicallymixed inner-city
Such a correlation isprobably Putnam isone, thisfindingis itself
to be expected.After all, we feel distinctlyuncomfortable.Perhaps
most at homewith peoplewho are multiculturalism just will not
like ourselves.However, Putnam work? Putnam rejectssuch a pes
simisticconclusion. The negative
also finds something he didn't
effectsof diversitycan be over
anticipate: Inmore diverse com
munities, Americans distrustnot come by a mixture of positive
only people who aren't like them social change and enlightened
but also peoplewho are.Diversity public policy.He provides a num
ber of encouragingexamples. For
seems to encourage social isola
tion, not enrichment. In diverse instance,a generationago theU.S.
neighborhoods,all citizensdisplay Army was divided along racial
lower levelsof confidence in local lines, but today it has become a
government and media; are less "relativelycolor-blindinstitution."
American soldiers today on aver
likelyto be involved in local vol
untary groups; are less likely to age have many more interracial
vote; and have lower levels of friendshipsthanAmericans as a
whole. The same is truewith cer
expressedhappiness.
Can these resultsbe explained tain religious institutions, particu
For
larly evangelical megachurches,
by factorsother thandiversity?
example, diverse communities which are much more racially
might have highercrime rates,be diverse than in thepast.
Until now, the aim of social
larger,or experiencemore poverty
policy has nearly always been to
than lessmixed ones. However,
Putnam shows that these factors reduce the segregation between
mainly
do not account for his results. ethnicgroups,concentrating
Putnam's
minorities.
racial
upon
Greaterdiversity
goes hand-in-hand

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:
;::

:-'

I
l

_I

itwillbe.
andtrusting
a community,
thelesshappy
thatthe
morediverse
Research
suggests
Aloneina crowd:
research,however,stronglyimplies
thatgettingall groups to identify
with a community ismost impor
tant-that is, tryingto fosteran
overall senseof pride and involve
ment with an institutionor neigh
borhood. Pride in themilitaryand
identification
with itsgoals almost
certainlywas a prime factor that
explains the changes in the army.
How fardo Putnam's findings
apply elsewhere-for example, in
Europe?We do not know forcer
tain,because thedetailedmaterials
Putnam was able to analyze for
cn
theUnited States do not exist even
0
tLL for individualEuropean societies,
let alone across national borders.
0
0
Yet there is a livelydebate about
the tensionsbetweendiversityand
thewelfare state that certainly

rigorous than that of Goodhart,

but it does provide some backing
Three years ago, David Good
forit.Ifdiversitydoes compromise
hart, theeditorof theBritishmag
solidarity,it is a fact that should
azine Prospect, caused a storm in be broughtout in theopen, not dis
a number of European countries missed for ideological reasons. It
when he argued that increasing might make multicultural ideals
immigrationcould undermine the more difficult
to realize,but,as Put
welfare state.The welfare state is nam shows, it is not a reason to
based upon sharing;yet sharing is abandon them.The strong impli
in conflictwith diversitybecause cation,paradoxical thoughitmight
people feelstrongerobligations to sound, is thatmulticulturalism
will
otherswhen theyare like them onlywork incountriesthatcan, at
selves.Goodhart argued that the thesame time,fostera strongsense
veryreason theUnited Stateshas a of national identity.
minimalwelfarestateis itsdiversity,
At themoment, I am notwholly
which ismuch more long-standing convinced by the arguments of
than in Europe. He claimed that eitherauthor.Putnam says diver
multiculturalismand theEuropean sityweakens social capitalwithin
welfare state are intrinsicallyat a community,butwhat, actually,
odds. Putnam'swork ismuchmore constitutesa communityin today's
makes Putnam'swork relevantfor

Europe,too.

NOVEMBER

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IDECEMBER

2007

87

Global Newsstand

-i

society? In an era of electronic

networking, itcannot necessarily
with a physicalneigh
be identified
borhood. Moreover, he does not
reallyexplain how it is thatdiver
sityundermines the social capital
of all groups living in a certain
area. Goodhart's thesis seems
questionable at best. Sweden, for
instance, is a country that has
experienced a good deal of recent

Iraq's

immigration-about 13 percent
of itspopulation is foreign-born.
Yet it has sustained its generous
and effective
welfare system,albeit
with many stressesand strains.
I would certainly like to see
Putnam'swork takenfurther,
and I
imaginehe will do so. It is based
mainly on statistical correlation
ratherthan studiesof actual local
neighborhoods.As he recognizes,it

Networked

has no timedimension.The next

step should be to look at specific
areas as theychangeover time.This
iswork thatwould profitfromhav
ing a comparative dimension. If
such work were replicated in
Europe, itwould shed lightboth
upon Putnam's claims and the
question ofwhether theEuropean
welfare statecan servethemany as
well as the few. Ik

Insurgents

By Daniel Kimmage and KathleenRidolfo

W

88

henU.S. ArmyGen.

Web sites-both
armed campaign in 2003. Their hatred. Insurgent
jihadist-publish
and
to
nationalist
media campaignuses theInternet
David H. Petraeus
segments dailypress releasesand operational
targeteducated,influential
briefed Congress on
recordingallegedattacks
the statusof the troop increasein of theArab population, and they statements
and Iraqi govern
of
millions
coalition
often
against
on
an
an
audience
reach
commented
can
he
Iraq,
overlooked front in the struggle when themainstreammedia pick ment forces.They also distribute
against Iraqi insurgents:the Inter up theirdiatribesor news bulletins. books,magazines, and biographies
martyrs.Their video con
net.PetraeustoldCongress thatthe Unencumbered by a centralized of jihadist
is
potent.Visitors
particularly
tent
brick-and-mortar
a
the
or
to
"contest
bureaucracy
needs
United States
theSunniinsurgentcan download shortclipsof suicide
enemy'sgrowinguse of thatimpor infrastructure,
tantmedium to spreadextremism." media network is lean,mean, and bombings, as well as longer,fea
Arabic-language films
ture-length
The general'sadmission that"this fast-moving.In recentmonths, al
rhetoric,many of
of
full
Islamist
organizations,
the
Qaeda-affiliated
war isnot onlybeing foughton
in
eachwith itsown "media brigade," themsubtitled English,German,
ground in Iraq but also in cyber
space" drew a quick responsefrom have appeared inAlgeria,Morocco, Kurdish, Turkish, and Urdu. One
ini
recent clip posted to the Islamic
theIslamicState of Iraq, the latest and Lebanon. The insurgency's
tialmessage of uncompromising Fluga (Fallujah) Forums showed
incarnationof al Qaeda in Iraq.A
posted to a opposition to theU.S. presence in the destructionof a $3.2-million
September13 statement
Iraq has mutated over the years, U.S. armoredvehiclewith a bomb
jihadistWeb site by the group
that supposedly cost only $32,
boasted thattheUnitedStates is try with anti-Shiite sectarian hate
Web
speechnow abundant, and a very implyingthat insurgentscan get a
ing to shut down insurgent
sitesbecause "media isan effective public riftbetweennationalistand $100,000 returnindamage foreach
jihadistgroups roilingthesites.But dollar theyinvestindestructionin
weapon thatcan crushthronesand
Sunni insurgentsremainunited in amatter of seconds.
destroyarmies."
media
The breadthof insurgent
using themessages theycreatenot
Iraqi insurgents have been
state
of
thousands
with
is
startling,
and
marshaling themedia to "destroy to informbut to spin, shape,
of
on
dozens
armies" since theybegan their shiftopinion-in short,towage a ments appearing
forumsand otherWeb sites.Our
war of imagesand ideas.
researchon two forumsused by
Indeed, thereisnothingimpar
Daniel Kimmage and Kathleen Ridolfo
insurgent groups operating in
media;
Iraqi
insurgent
Free
about
at
tial
Radio
are regional analysts
World News Network
Iraq-the
theirprimarygoals are to recruit
Europe/Radio Liberty. They are authors
that in
raisemoney, incite and Mohajroon-showed
of a recent report titled,Iraqi Insurgent foreignfighters,
violence, and foment religious March 2007 alone, insurgents
Media: TheWar of Images and Ideas.
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:[

Global Newsstand

issuedroughly1,000 press releases

documentingoperations and com
mentingon politics.Many of these
are cut-and-paste
claims fromother
sitesabout unverifiableassaults on
"crusaders" and "apostates," but
the totaladds up tomore than30
unique statementsa day.
The contentof insurgent
media
doesn't rest solely on simplified
rhetoric of martyrdom and
accounts of victories over the
"Great Satan" within Iraq's bor
ders. Iraqi insurgentmedia also
demonstrate an acute awareness
of policy discussions and political
battles in theUnited States and
Europe. Since the"surge" began in
February,insurgents
have regular
lyquoted and commentedon bat
tlesbetween the
White House and
theU.S. Congress over Iraq policy,
often in real time. Forums also
allow supporters toweigh in and
give theirassessments
of theongoing

insurgentcampaign against the

United States and itsallies.
One example of how closely
insurgent
media followU.S. politics
came in a Julystatementfromthe
IslamicArmy inIraq (IAI),a promi
nentnationalistgroup thathas tan
gled publiclywith alQaeda in Iraq.
As usual, the statementappeared
both on thegroup'sWeb site and
on a host of sympatheticforums.It
made a bold predictionabout the
outcome of the 2008 U.S. presi
dential elections simplyby using
the feminineformof theArabic
word-ra'isah insteadof ra'is-for
"president."Noting thatthe"U.S.
Congress holdsmarathonmeetings
inwhich partisan interests take
precedence over theAmerican

pass the crisis on to the next

[female]presidentand theDemo
cratic majority [in Congress],
which is timidlycrawling towarda

solution...."

Bread-and-butter issues lie

closer to home, however, and
insurgents'real interestinU.S. pol
itics iswhat itmeans for Iraq.
Their commentaryon thePetraeus
report claimed that it supported
the insurgentview that the Iraqi
governmentisnear collapse, coali
tion forces are on the verge of
withdrawing, and victory for the
insurgencyis near.And although
the al Qaeda jihadists from the
IslamicState of Iraq acknowledged
in theirSeptember 13 statement
recentU.S. attemptsto shutdown
insurgentWeb sites and arrest
national
interest, which is an exit
from the Iraq quagmire," the IAI operators of jihadist forums,they
also praised contributorsto insur
concluded,"What all of thismeans
is that theAmericans, and espe
gent sitesand forums,tellingthem
cially the neoconservatives, will
theywere a tool to aggravate the
enemiesofGod and supportIslam.
They advised these contributors
to be patient, fearless,and stead
fast in theirwork, saying: "Your
media is an instigation for the
monotheistsand an announcement
to join the fight."
Alfa-Bank and CDS Internationalare pleased to
For theUnited States, address
announce a call forapplicationsfortheAlfaFellowship
ing insurgent media is vitally
Program's 2008-09 Fellows. Now entering its sixth
important.
But it'snot an easy task.
round, the Alfa FellowshipProgram is a
For everysite that ispulled down,
professional-level
exchange designed to fostera new
generation of American leaders and decision-makers
another pops up, often carrying
withmeaningfulprofessionalexperience inRussia.
archivedcontent fromthepreced
ing site.Moreover, insurgentsare
The AlfaFellowshipbeginswith language traininginthe
U.S. followed by an intensive language course in
adept at findingnew and provoca
Moscow. InOctober,AlfaFellowswillattenda two-week
tiveways to spread theirmessage,
seminarprogramwithkeyRussian government,public,
from
freeupload-download sites
and private sector officialsto discuss currentissues
to compressed filmfilesformobile
facingRussia. Fellows then undertake individualized
professionalassignmentsat leading Russian
phones. For groups that firmly
organizations including private companies, media
believe that"media ishalf thebat
outlets, think tanks, NGOs, and government
tle,"as one insurgent
statement
put
institutions.
it,theInternetisa lifelinetohearts
Eligiblecandidates must have a graduate degree and
and minds. They will surelycon
professional experience in business, economics,
tinue to fightfor theirfoothold in
journalism,law,government,or public policy.Russian
thevirtualworld, just as surelyas
language proficiency is preferred. The Fellowship
includes monthly stipends, related travel costs,
with bombs and bullets
theyfight
housing,and insurance.
in the real one. Cl

90

Alfa Fellowship
Program

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