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The Moral Quagmire of Peacekeeping Shouldn’t Be Used to Justify U.N. Cuts

The Moral Quagmire of Peacekeeping Shouldn’t Be Used to Justify U.N. Cuts
Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., speaks during a Security Council meeting on the peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, New York, March 31, 2017 (Albin Lohr-Jones for Sipa via AP Images).

Is it possible that I am a minor source of moral inspiration to the Trump administration?

This may sound like a belated April Fool’s joke. The Trump team, with its emphasis on transactional politics, is not exactly a conclave of moralists. And as a liberal internationalist of European origin, I am not entirely in tune with the “America First” crowd. As I have noted, Trump supporters on right-wing websites have cheerfully dismissed me as a “hysterical” globalist or worse. They are unlikely to look to me for inspiration.

Yet, tracking recent debates about American proposals to make severe cuts to the United Nations, I have realized that the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Nikki Haley, may be utilizing arguments I once made about the moral failings of peacekeeping to buttress her case. I am not sure whether to feel pleased or panicked.

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