Updated: Nov. 4, 2014 at 8:10 p.m.
This post was written by Hatchet reporter Lila Weatherly.
Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Thomas Pickering spoke at the Jack Morton Auditorium on Wednesday about foreign policy and the impact of the U.S.’s connections to other countries.
Here are the main takeaways from the event, hosted by the International Affairs Society:
1. Effects of the Internet
Pickering said technology has drastically altered diplomacy, with information being easier to share than ever before.
He said with the “rapid movement of information,” it isn’t difficult for opinions, such as the idea that a dictatorship is ineffective, to be debated in countries across the world at the same time.
2. Effective negotiating
Pickering said a multilateral approach is key to successful negotiations with other nations.
“No question has the silver bullet in it that will solve the others,” Pickering said.
Pickering, a seven-time ambassador, has served as an ambassador to countries including Nigeria, El Salvador and Jordan. He also served in the foreign service from 1960 to 2001.
3. Rivals and partners
Pickering dissected the relationship between “rival and partner” countries like China, Russia, Japan and India. He said the U.S. should work carefully with those countries, especially as the Chinese economy grows.
“We seek to find those win-wins. It’s not all diplomacy, but diplomacy has a lot to do with it,” Pickering said, adding that “military force is not a good way of solving diplomatic problems.”
4. Poverty, growth and development
Though not all foreign aid programs have met their projected goals, Pickering said they have helped in some ways. Still, he said aid must be directed specifically to be most successful.
“We need to seek to work with them to persuade them that their future can be better and we’re in a position to help,” Pickering said about developing nations.