History will show that in the aftermath of one of the most devastating natural disasters ever to hit U.S. soil – Hurricane Katrina – the United States was not alone. International institutions with unsurpassed expertise in disaster management came to America’s aid, critically assisting the U.S. in its recovery. Stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, a United Nations logistics team helped – and continues to – organize various efforts of international assistance. Meanwhile UN agencies like the World Food Program and UNICEF are providing food, clean water and even school lessons “in a box” for displaced children.

The response to Katrina paints a picture of how international institutions and the foreign policies that support them have a real, life-altering impact on even small-town communities. This connection between global policies and our local, everyday lives is not unique to Katrina. We can find these connections all around us.

Infectious Disease
More than any other international phenomenon, infectious diseases show how global problems can affect us on a local level. Diseases can transmit with alarming frequency and without regard to geographic boundaries. Avian Flu, for example, is spread as wild birds traverse borders on their seasonal migration routes. Once bird flu mutates to a human strain, this deadly disease is but a plane flight away from becoming a pandemic.

Fortunately, agencies like the World Health Organization, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Organization for Animal Health are working hard to be prepared for such outbreaks. And today, they are coordinating with local and national governments to ensure that they have effective disease confinement practices as well.

Climate Change
In similar fashion, climate change affects communities both locally and worldwide. As global temperatures rise, scientists predict sea levels to increase as much as two feet, displacing homes and businesses along coastlines. Also, local farmers suffer because unpredictable growing seasons result in smaller crop yields. Most ominously, extreme weather events, like droughts and hurricanes, are predicted to be even more severe as weather patterns change. Fortunately, through global agreements like the Kyoto Protocol, we can limit the gas emissions that contribute to climate change, stopping or even reversing this trend.

Law of the Sea
International agreements can be hugely beneficial to local economies. The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), for example, would allow American businesses in coastal communities to explore ocean resources that do not belong to any country. Unfortunately, these businesses will not explore or extract gas, oil and minerals from the deep sea because, with UNCLOS un-ratified, they have no common way to regulate their claims to sites. If UNCLOS were to become U.S. law it would not only help safe-guard our economic interests at sea, it would also set a high global standard for protecting the marine environment.

War in the Congo
Wars in other countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), not only affect us emotionally, they affect our businesses and professional lives as well. In the DRC, persistent conflict has all but halted the extraction of the minerals used to make screens for cell phones and computers. Without ready access to this resource, businesses have incurred higher production costs. Although hardly significant in light of the humanitarian tragedy, this is another example of why it is in our interest to support inter-national peacekeeping operations in conflict areas such as the DRC.

The Perception Gap
Unfortunately our elected officials have yet to recognize that foreign policy affects our environment, economies and health on a local, even individual, level. There is still a sense that international affairs have no real impact on local lives and that constituents will not support politicians who advocate for greater U.S. global engagement. The numbers, in fact, say just the opposite. A 2004 Chicago Council on Foreign Relations report showed that 66 percent of the American public wants the U.S. to make more decisions through the United Nations. Meanwhile, only 26 percent of our elected officials recognize the public’s broad, bipartisan support for international institutions.

This perception gap has profoundly distorted the course of U.S. foreign policy, with our leaders adopting stances inconsistent with the opinions of the majority of Americans. It is no wonder that action to reverse this trend is beginning at the local level. In June, more than 175 U.S. mayors committed their cities to the environmental standards of the Kyoto Protocol.

More, however, must be done. If we are going to survive in today’s interconnected world, we must consistently communicate to our elected leaders that global issues do, in fact, affect and matter to us locally. We must show that international institutions not only have an impact in the aftermath of natural disasters like Katrina, but also in our daily, local lives. And we must demonstrate that global partnerships make a difference to each and every one of us – no matter what country we live in.

Updated February 06, 2006