The Rise of the Hipster Statesman

"A politician is a man who understands government. A statesman is a politician who's been dead for 15 years."
—Harry Truman

A second act is rare in world politics. History can point to a handful of leaders who managed to reacquire political power after losing it (Napoleon, Churchill, Deng Xiaoping, Alan Garcia). Traditionally, however, when a politician loses his job, he faces the purgatory of being a statesman. At best, he makes money and becomes the titular head of an international organization. At worst, he gets shot.

Al Gore's Nobel Peace Prize, however, highlights a newer and more intriguing possibility for this generation's crop of statesmen: the ex-politician as policy entrepreneur—a hipster statesman. As a politician, Gore was a noble failure; his most signal accomplishment was to help negotiate a global warming treaty that had zero chance of ratification in his home country. As a statesman, Gore has become a rock star. In the past year, in addition to his Nobel, he has won an Emmy and his movie won an Oscar, thereby guaranteeing himself the World's Most Awesome Mantle. His documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" has shifted the debate on global warming in the United States. He was the chief promoter of this past summer's Live Earth concerts. As an environmentalist, Gore is much more relevant now than when he was vice president.

Gore is the most prominent hipster statesman, but he is hardly the only one. Last week former president of MozambiqueJoaquim Chissano won the inaugural Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. The prize specifically rewards politicians for becoming statesmen—i.e., gracefully leaving office when their constitutional term of office expires. Tony Blair has moved from 10 Downing Street to the slightly more dangerous address of the Middle East, as the envoy for the Quartet (the United States, United Nations, European Union and Russia).

Being a statesman is so cool now that they are forming their own clubs. The Club of Madrid is devoted to democracy promotion and effective global governance; its membership roster consists of 68 former heads of state and government of democratic nations. Naturally, the Gorbachev Foundation of North America helped get the Club of Madrid off the ground.

Even rock stars are yearning to mingle with statesmen. Over the summer, singer Peter Gabriel cosponsored the formation of a group called "The Elders." According to their Web site, The Elders will, "use their unique collective skills to catalyze peaceful resolutions to long-standing conflicts … and share wisdom by helping to connect voices all over the world." Desmond Tutu, who holds the title "Chair of the Elders," recently led an all-star team of statesmen to visit Darfur. The Elders' roster is like a Hall of Fame for hipster statesmen, including former presidents Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, Fernando Cardoso, Nelson Mandela, and Gro Harlem Brundtland.