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Chapter 88: A World of Neighbors

The energy crisis had forced the campaign to look outward, to confront the hard-edged realities of geopolitics. Julian, however, knew that the threats of the 21st century were not just from rogue states with oil reserves. Some were quieter, more insidious, and networked in a way that traditional statecraft was failing to address.

The issue landed on his desk in the form of a heart-wrenching news report. It was an investigation into the vast, sophisticated international scam operations that were devastating American families. The report focused on a series of fortified compounds in the lawless border regions of Myanmar, where thousands of people, many themselves victims of human trafficking, were being forced to run elaborate, psychologically brutal romance and investment scams against a global target list, with a particular focus on American seniors. The story was punctuated by an interview with a weeping, elderly man in Iowa who had lost his life savings to a fake online relationship.

At his next "Un-Rally," a question came from a woman in the audience. "Mr. Corbin," she asked, her voice trembling with a quiet rage, "we can build aircraft carriers to fight a navy. But what can a president do about this? This… faceless, borderless crime that is stealing from our parents and our grandparents?"

Julian nodded, his expression somber. “That is the right question for this century,” he said. “And the answer is that the old model of a single nation acting as the ‘world police’ is obsolete. It cannot fight a decentralized, global, criminal network.”

He began to diagnose the problem. “In a globalized world, crime, like capital and information, is no longer bound by national borders. These criminal enterprises are, in effect, dark multinational corporations. They leverage the technology of the developed world, like our financial systems, and they exploit the instability of the developing world, like the lawless zones of Myanmar, to prey on the any place on the planet. To fight a network, you must build a better network.”

He then laid out his solution, a direct application of his "Goodwill" doctrine, but with a hard, pragmatic edge.

“My administration will be extremely tough on any country that knowingly harbors these criminal enterprises. We will use every tool at our disposal—from targeted financial sanctions to diplomatic isolation—to make it more painful for them to host these parasites than it is to eradicate them.”

“But,” he continued, “the true key to success is not unilateral action. It is building a coalition of the willing, a network of regional partners. We cannot solve a problem in Myanmar from Washington. It is a logistical and political impossibility. But we can and will work with, and provide the necessary intelligence and resources to, the nations that border it—nations like Thailand and China—who have a direct and immediate national security interest in shutting down these criminal states-within-a-state on their own borders.”

The mention of China caused a murmur in the room.

“Yes, China,” he said, addressing the unspoken question. “China is our primary strategic rival. But on certain, specific, transnational issues—like organized crime, like pandemics, like global terrorism—our interests can and do align. A mature foreign policy is one that can be tough with an adversary on one front, while simultaneously cooperating with them on another front where we have a clear and mutual interest. To believe otherwise is a childish and dangerous form of diplomacy.”

He then used this specific problem to pivot to his broader, philosophical vision for America's role in the world.

“But the second part of this is a new posture for America. A posture of humility. For too long, we have lectured the world. It is time for us to start listening. We do not have all the answers. There are things we can learn from other countries about how to run a safer, more efficient society. We can learn from their justice systems, from their healthcare models, from their educational approaches.”

He concluded, his voice a quiet but powerful call for a new kind of internationalism. “My goal is to make it safer for Americans to visit countries around the world, not just as tourists to be protected, but as students to be enriched. Students of the world, learning from each other, so that we can all, together, build a safer, more prosperous, and more decent planet. A world of neighbors, not of walls.”

The Discourse, 88; The Geopolitics of the Networked Criminal

Section 88.1: Transnational Crime as a Feature of Globalization

The central problem identified—sophisticated scam operations based in lawless zones of developing nations—is a quintessential 21st-century threat. It is a direct, negative externality of globalization. In the same way that capital and information can now flow frictionlessly across borders, so too can complex criminal enterprises. These organizations are, in effect, dark multinational corporations. They leverage the technology of the developed world (internet, financial systems) and exploit the instability and corruption of the developing world (failed states, lawless regions) to prey on a global consumer base. Julian Corbin’s diagnosis is that this is not a traditional criminal problem to be solved with traditional law enforcement. It is a geopolitical and systemic problem. The old model of a single nation's police force pursuing a single criminal is obsolete. The new threats are networked, decentralized, and transnational, and they require an equally networked and transnational response.

Section 88.2: The "Coalition of the Willing" as Pragmatic Diplomacy

Corbin's proposed solution is a direct application of his "Goodwill" doctrine, but with a crucial, pragmatic twist. He combines a hard-line stance against the host nation with a cooperative stance towards its neighbors. This is a sophisticated piece of diplomacy.

• The Hard Power: The threat of sanctions and isolation against a country like Myanmar is a classic "hard power" tool, designed to raise the cost of inaction for the ruling regime.

• The Cooperative Power: The decision to work with regional partners, including a strategic adversary like China, is an act of pure realpolitik. It is a recognition that on certain transnational issues (like organized crime, pandemics, or terrorism), even hostile nations can have aligned interests.

This demonstrates a foreign policy that is not driven by a rigid, ideological stance (e.g., "we must never cooperate with China"), but by a flexible, pragmatic, and results-oriented assessment of shared interests. It is a mature and realistic approach to a complex world.

Section 88.3: The Philosophy of American Humility

The final pivot of the speech is its most profound and counter-cultural element. The dominant theme of American foreign policy rhetoric for a century, from both parties, has been American exceptionalism—the idea that America is a unique nation with a special role to play in the world, and that its model of governance is one to be exported. Corbin’s statement—"We do not have all the answers"—is a direct and radical repudiation of this tradition. He is proposing a foreign policy based on intellectual humility. He is arguing that America should engage with the world not just as a teacher, but as a student. This is a powerful and disarming idea. It is an act of soft power, designed to lower the defenses of other nations and to re-frame America's role from that of a global hegemon to that of a global partner. This is the ultimate expression of his data-driven worldview. A true scientist or engineer knows that good ideas can come from anywhere, and that the most effective way to build a better system is to learn from all other existing systems. His proposal to make the world safe for Americans to be "students of the world" is the foreign policy equivalent of his domestic platform: a deep, fundamental belief in the power of open systems, shared knowledge, and relentless, humble learning.