Why Trump-Kim handshake is no symbol of peace, but fuel for North Korea’s brutal regime
Sherif A. Elgebeily says history teaches that the US president’s choice to pursue a peace deal under the media glare has little chance of success, and meeting Kim Jong-un with no preconditions can only confer legitimacy on the North Korean leader’s regime
There is good reason for moderation in the depiction of world leaders shaking hands for peace – they are seminal windows in time: think, for example, of US president Bill Clinton, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin at the White House, shaking hands upon agreeing on the Oslo Accords.
Brutal dictators are always happy to be pictured next to world leaders for the same reasons that we should be restrained in granting their requests – such photos grant international legitimacy and consolidate domestic power and popularity. A responsible world leader will understand that a photo can be as much, if not more of, a boon than even the lifting of sanctions – it provides fuel for the engines of a regime. A photo is, in many ways, collateral.
In negotiating peace, recognition and granting of legitimacy is an incredibly important step on the path to success; a government can show the seriousness of its intentions to peace by recognising another state or group. In many cases, this is a large part of what a pariah state wants – acknowledgement, recognition, to be taken seriously. Recognition is leverage and should be respected as one of numerous tools at the disposal of those pursuing diplomacy.