United Nations
Speaking to the U.N. General Assembly for the eighth and last time as president, Obama sought to rise above the conflicts of the moment and outline a future of international cooperation, stressing the importance of the global liberal institutions formed after World War II, including the United Nations.
“The world is by many measures less violent and more prosperous than ever before,” Obama said. But he acknowledged a growing global unease, fueled by terrorism and economic anxiety, which has led some Western politicians, including Republican nominee Donald Trump, to call for tough, new restrictions on immigration and global trade.
Obama often seemed to be speaking simultaneously to history and to an American electorate facing a historic choice.
The problems plaguing the world called for a “course correction,” the president said. He then catalogued the crises that have exposed “deep fault lines in the existing international order,” describing the financial disruptions caused by globalization, chaos in the Middle East and the massive refugee flows into Europe.
“Our societies are filled with uncertainty and unease and strife,” he said. “Despite enormous progress, as people lose trust in institutions, governing becomes more difficult and tensions between nations become more quick to surface.”
Obama rejected the strongman, top-down model pushed by many of his international rivals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping. In the same breath he criticized those who push religious fundamentalism, aggressive nationalism and a “crude populism” that promises to return citizens to a “better and simpler age free of outside contamination” — a not-so-veiled reference to Trump’s campaign promise to “Make American Great Again.”
“We cannot dismiss these visions,” Obama said. “They are powerful.”
Throughout his presidency, Obama has stressed the importance of diplomacy and international organizations, such as the United Nations. From his earliest days as a presidential hopeful he has preached the importance of reaching out to long-standing enemies.
Obama used his speech on Tuesday to try to cement that legacy, pointing to his administration’s efforts to restore relations with Cuba and Myanmar, and its historic agreement with Iran last year.
“When Iran agrees to accept constraints on its nuclear program, that enhances global security and enhances Iran’s ability to work with other nations,” Obama said.
The days leading up to Obama’s last United Nations address, like much of his presidency, were dominated by concerns about war and terrorism. Obama’s remarks came one day after a manhunt led to the capture of a suspect linked to bombings in New York and New Jersey and hours after a tenuous cease-fire in Syria seemed to have collapsed. There were reports that Syrian or Russian aircraft had struck an aid convoy near Aleppo, just days after planes from the U.S.-led alliance mistakenly struck Syrian troops.
Obama steered clear of these topics in his speech, focusing his broader vision for preserving the international order.
The president spoke of the economic unease caused by globalization, which has manifested itself during the presidential race in widespread opposition to international trade deals. Such agreements, Obama said, could bolster labor unions in the developing world and ensure that profits of the global economy are more evenly distributed.
“A world in which 1 percent of humanity controls as much wealth as the other 99 percent will never be stable,” Obama said.
He called for more vigilance to eliminate tax havens, fight climate change and curb the “excesses of capitalism.”
“A society that asks less of oligarchs than ordinary citizens will rot from within,” he said.
At times, Obama’s remarks were directed at his rivals in Russia and China who have in recent years forcefully pressed an alternative to his vision.
In other moments, Obama seemed to be addressing the American electorate and the deep divisions that have been revealed by the presidential election.