What Role, if any, is there for Empathy in the Geopolitics of the Enduring Disorder?
Why is empathy important for effective military and diplomatic strategy?
One of the things I’ve been thinking about with our increased tribalism and partisan rancor over the issues of the day — like Trump and Biden, Leave and Remain, Gaza and Israel — is how social media, cancel culture, and increased partisanship seems to have decreased people’s empathy for those who disagree with them.
Defined as an attempt to understand the experiences of others and used to champion the importance of human connection and relationships, many of us might associate empathy with kindness, and compassion. However, empathy actually has more tooth and muscle to it. It requires courage, strength, humility, and a willingness to engage in hard and even impossible conversations. empathy can be deeply uncomfortable. Empathy can be a political superpower. Some say it is Joe Biden’s superpower.
At the everyday level it can mean confronting differences, and listening to, and engaging with, those with whom we disagree. Far easier said than done.
At the national and governmental level, it can be harder still. We may say we want to see political leaders who are more empathetic, and who understand the needs, desires, and experiences of the people, but it can have limits. Do we want to see them empathising with their or our political opponents? Will we see them as weak if they try to find consensus and compromise? Many Dems feel that Obama might have empathized too much with Republicans' who didn’t want single payer health care and Biden was initially too forgiving and empathetic to the enemies of democracy… Personally, I understand these critiques but I think some situations demand empathy while others demand bold courageous leadership — they are not necessarily in contradiction.
In international affairs and security, empathy can be seen as a source of connection to help overcome divisions and tensions, but do we want to see empathy with Russia? Or China? Despite its initially positive sounding connotations, how do we navigate the complexities of the concept and what it asks of us?
So what does empathy really mean in geopolitics? How can it be put into practice in today’s politics? And in what ways can empathetic politics can be useful to trying to order the world?
In this week’s episode of Disorder we were joined by Claire Yorke to discuss Empathy. Listen here.
Dr Claire Yorke is an author and academic whose research and books explore the role and limitations of empathy and emotions in international relations, diplomacy, strategy, and political leadership. She is currently a Senior Lecturer at the Australian War College in Canberra where she is leading a course on strategic empathy and the Indo-Pacific, and prior to that completed postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University and the University of Southern Denmark. She began her career in politics and policy in the UK, working at Chatham House and in the British Parliament.
She believes empathy is integral to human connection, and that it is through dialogue, understanding, humility, greater emotional literacy, and a deeper appreciation for both our similarities and our differences that we can find more creative, sustainable and inclusive approaches to contemporary challenges. Through her work she argues that we need to think differently about ideas of security and power, and challenge conventional assumptions about what makes us ‘feel’ secure.
She has co-edited two books on diplomacy and is writing two books on empathy – one on diplomacy, and one on political leadership, and is currently immersing herself in life Down Under and all the challenges and opportunities it presents (learning to sail, embracing the outdoors, and travel around the region vs adapting to antipodean bugs (less fun)).
Listen to the pod to find out:
- Why is empathy important for the military?
- Why Empathy is particularly difficult in the Israeli/Palestinian dispute.
- What is the difference btw empathetic politics and interfaith understanding…
- How empathy compels shifts of power – moving from power over another person or entity to power with or alongside another entity.. and what does this way of thinking mean for how we understand global order?
- Empathy in politics – are we ready for more empathetic politics? What would it look like? What is an empathetic leader (do they exist)? What can we as voters do to increase empathy in politics?
- Empathy and strategy – what is strategic empathy, why is it so essential to decision-making and good strategy? How do you teach/learn it?
- Empathy and security – understanding what makes us ‘feel’ secure? Creating longer-term security.
- Empathy and order – why empathy is key to more inclusive, creative, and collaborative international order.
Listen here.
For More Background reading on Empathy in Geopolitics
· Yorke, C. (2023). Is empathy a strategic imperative? A review essay. Journal of Strategic Studies, 46(5), 1082–1102. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2022.2152800
· Keys, Barbara, and Claire Yorke. "Personal and Political Emotions in the Mind of the Diplomat." Political Psychology40, no. 6 (2019): 1235-1249. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01402390.2022.2152800
· Claire’s website - https://claireyorke.me
· Empathy Week – a link to help grow empathy in the classroom and create a new generation who understands its value - https://www.empathy-week.com