The idea that when entities from two countries interact we have to apply the norms of the least free country to the interaction seems counterproductive. Are we going to ban Afghani women from driving in the US because US women can't drive there? It seems like a race to the bottom.
> Are we going to ban Afghani women from driving in the US because US women can't drive there
If they don’t have a valid international drivers license (presumed because they don’t drive at home) then literally yes we do de facto ban them.
But it’s not about giving the people less rights at home it’s demanding they give us as much rights as we give them. The framing is backwards. Why do we honor their license (for men or women) if they don’t honor ours (incl our women)? Why is it not wrong to demand they treat us as well as we treat them? “If you want America to honor your licenses then you must honor ALL American licenses as equally as America does”
Don’t tolerate intolerance. Don’t play games with bad governments.
Disclaimer: I have no idea what actual Afghani laws around driving look like I’m just using your example.
> Don’t tolerate intolerance. Don’t play games with bad governments.
the initial tolerance of the intolerance is due to the idea that by freely trading and allowing trade in such a (asymmetric) fashion, the less democratic country would democratize. Over time, the gov't would become more open and "westernize".
That is a miscalculation by the US administration (particularly clinton's, but i won't pin this onto any particular one, as it's a wide policy not decided by a single administration). Neither russia nor china had leadership that would see themselves removed from power - that is their primary prerogative as dictators. And any policy changes that those countries implement is first, and foremost, a policy to keep themselves in power. To the extend that their policies benefit the people, it's done for the express purpose of keeping themselves in power, and never a primary objective.
Therefore, it's clear now, that neither china nor russia would want to integrate themselves in to the west as allies and partners. They forever see the west as an adversary to which they must best - it's an imaginary threat, made real by the fact that democratizing means disposing of dictators.
This can only end one way. I hope it's the west that wins, because despite the woes and poor performance, it cannot be worse than the alternative.
