From the WSJ Opinion Archives
IN THE ACADEMY
Students for a Democratic Society
A new generation of campus activists support American ideals.
OXFORD, England--A specter is haunting college campuses--the specter of student activism. But this isn't quite what you might think. To be sure, the most vocal activists are those who oppose the use of force to disarm Iraq and enforce the will of the United Nations. But there is also a growing student movement dedicated to the promotion of democracy and human rights in countries where brutal tyrants crush the human spirit. As the founders of the Oxford Democracy Forum (OxDem), we think the time has come to let both America and its allies know where the next generation stands.
We founded OxDem because we were saddened by many students' lack of interest in the fate of those who are not fortunate enough to share in the freedom that students in Western democracies take for granted. While students have taken to the streets on behalf of good causes such as the plight of exploited workers in Vietnam and desperate refugees in Central Africa, none of them seem to recognize that the ultimate cause of such suffering is a lack of democratic government.
Many of those students, benefiting from the freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and open civil society that exist in Western democracies, have now begun protesting to oppose the forceful implementation of Resolution 1441. They have offered pro forma denunciations of Saddam Hussein's brutality, but they have never suggested what, exactly, is to be done with him.
The principles that animate OxDem are those embodied in the Declaration of Independence and, later, in the United Nations Charter on Human Rights. We believe that all human beings are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights, including the right to self-government. These inalienable rights are no different in Tehran than they are in Tucson. We are convinced that American foreign policy is most effective as well as most respected by our allies when it is founded on these universal principles.
When Chinese students held aloft their own Statue of Liberty in Tiannanmen Square, it demonstrated that the universality of America's ideals is not just a pretension but an empirical fact. Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, we've learned that these same ideals gave hope to brave Eastern European dissidents such as Vaclav Havel and Lech Walesa. Well aware of how dramatically America's commitment to freedom can transform lives, it comes as no surprise that Mr. Havel has been an outspoken adovocate of bringing democracy to Iraq.
As one of us (Mr. Chafetz) knows from his own travels in Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, pro-American sentiment is strong there as well. Having survived one brutal dictatorship after another, the people of the Balkans are now living under governments of their own choosing because the United States decided to act on the principles on which it was founded. Is it, then, surprising that Vojislav Kostunica, the man who stood up to and replaced Slobodan Milosevic, was a constitutional lawyer who once translated the Federalist Papers into Serbo-Croatian?
In light of the strength that dissidents from Prague to Belgrade to Baghdad have found in America's founding principles, we disagree with those who believe that America lacks the moral integrity necessary to bring democracy to Iraq. We suspect that the people of Panama, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan think that America has the requisite integrity. And we suspect that the people of Rwanda, Somalia and Kurdistan would have gladly embraced an active American role in their time of need.
OxDem is not "pro-war." The use of force is a last resort, and one that has tragic consequences even when absolutely necessary. And we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of dictatorship. In Iran, where there is a strong and growing student movement for democratization, we hope to support change from within, rather than from abroad. What we cannot accept is doing nothing. We insist that suffering cannot end and that the war on terror cannot be won until the dictatorships responsible for that suffering and terrorism are replaced by democratic governments.
That is why we also insist that is not enough to overthrow Saddam, rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction, and then turn around and go home. We must commit to rebuilding Iraq as a free state, which means committing to the provision of significant amounts of time, money and expertise. It means respecting the will of the Iraqi people, whomever they choose to elect, so long as he does not suspend democratic institutions.
We are deeply troubled by last week's news that the Bush Administration failed to request any money for reconstruction in Afghanistan in the 2003 budget, and we applaud Congress for stepping in to add the funds. If the administration ever turns away from postwar Iraq in a similar manner, OxDem will be there to remind it that its job has only just begun. Until the people of Iraq share the freedom that Americans cannot live without, America's mission must go on. We will also continue to insist that our government demand widespread reforms in "allied" nations such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.
We are not alone. Similar groups have formed at Yale (Yale College Students for Democracy), Columbia (Students United for Victory), Brandeis (United We Stand), and many other universities. We receive e-mails almost daily from students who have found us on the Internet and would like advice on starting similar organizations at their own universities. And we are trying to build bridges with dissident student groups in totalitarian countries, groups like the Student Movement Coordination Committee for Democracy in Iran (you can find out more about them at www.iran-daneshjoo.org). Together, we hope to bring democracy promotion to the forefront of the international agenda.
The oppressed around the world have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world--a free, peaceful, democratic world--to win. And we can help them. Students of the world, unite!
Messrs. Chafetz and Adesnik are American Rhodes Scholars and graduate students in politics and international relations at Oxford. They are the co-founders of the Oxford Democracy Forum and co-editors of oxblog.blogspot.com.
