This week on TPMCafé’s America Abroad, the bloggers are talking about ... a Concert of Democracies, Iraq, the Transatlantic Relationship and Saudi Threats. My full summary is after the break.

Concert of Democracies

Ivo Daalder started the debate on the Concert of Democracies after introducing an article he coauthored with James Lindsay advocating the creation of such an organization. Daalder believes that attempts by the US in the wake of 9/11 to act unilaterally have been unsuccessful and a new strategy of cooperation is now needed to address the challenges of globalization. Lindsay emphasized that the Concert of Democracies, once created, would be effective, have strong legitimacy, and would create a competition in international institutions that would push the UN toward necessary reforms. In response to a reader’s comments, Lindsay argued that the US should always attempt to work with other great powers, yet a Concert of Great Powers, unlike a Concert of Democracies, would exclude too many countries — and never offer the prospect of including all countries. Just a few months ago in a paper co-authored with Anne-Marie Slaughter, John Ikenberry proposed his own version of a Concert. He presented it to the America Abroad community by comparing and contrasting his ideas with those of Daalder and Lindsay. Rachel Kleinfeld enthusiastically endorsed the Daalder and Lindsay thesis, arguing that US and European values are already much in line.

But our bloggers weren’t unanimous about the virtues of the Concert idea. Bruce Jentleson does not agree the Concert would be capable of accomplishing its proposed responsibilities and addresses some questions that it would inherently pose. And he doubts it will — or should — be given priority within a future administration. Ernest Wilson fears that “most of the world would view the CoD as yet another step by the United States to exercise a little more hegemony”. Tod Lindberg approaches the issue by comparing the legitimacy of a unanimous judgment from the both the UN Security Council and the Concert. Though not as skeptical of the UN as Daalder and Lindsay, James Traub agrees that the Concert could work, while at the same time introduces possible limitations. After hearing what the skeptics have to say, Daalder and Lindsay answer some of their questions and expand on their original ideas. Jentleson remains unpersuaded.

In Other News On America Abroad

* Juliette Kayyem agrees with Daalder that the US should be withdrawing troops from Iraq despite the administration’s leanings to the contrary. Although the president constantly says that he listens to his generals, Jentleson cannot see how that is possible, especially after what his Generals and the Joint Chiefs are telling him now.

* New America Abroad blogger Vali Nasr investigates ties Saudi Arabia has with terrorist organizations and how Iran’s recent actions might be playing a role. This follows a recent trip by the Vice President to the Saudi capital in late November.

*In relation to the transatlantic relationship, Daalder does not believe that Europe has been stepping up to the plate lately. His disappointments stem from Europe’s lack of action in Afghanistan and failures to follow through on sanctions with Iran.