'A Big Empty Space'

No Westerner would have predicted it, but is Putin turning into one of these galvanizing leaders?
Putin has increased the respect for Russia. But the only countries in which an actual majority views Russia favorably are Ukraine, China, and South Korea. It's not a pretty picture for any leader.

Could the stability and continuity of Russia and China have something to do with their leaders' popularity?
Putin is seen as stabilizing Russia, including the Chechnya conflict. Hu Jintao guides China with something of a steady hand, and China is doing some things that engender good will around the world. They're not too highhanded in dealing with other countries. 

The leader with the highest ranking, the U.N.'s Ban, is not a head of state. What do you make of that?
I think the Ban Ki-moon result is interesting. People still look to the UN, and to multilateral cooperation.

So people still think the UN has some teeth?
I don't know if "teeth" is the word. The UN is seen as above the fray to some extent, as symbolizing the potential for cooperation—something that they look to more than any particular leader or country. It's an indication of globalization, that leadership needs to be globalized. International cooperation is not the answer to everything, but people do look to it as a major factor.

How soon could another leader occupy the role that the U.S. president used to have?
There's nothing on the horizon. It's not easy to predict how people will coalesce around a leader. Who would have thought a year ago that [Barack] Obama would have ascended the way he did?

© 2008