Marco Vicenzino represents a new generation of independent foreign policy thinkers that combines successful international private sector experience with profound insight into contemporary geo-politics to produce an informed global strategic perspective on issues, events and developments that drive world affairs in the 21st century. As a graduate of Oxford University and Georgetown University Law Center, Vicenzino has constantly distinguished himself through his ability to master and inter-connect a wide range of international topics and speak authoritatively on diverse media outlets around the world.
Vicenzino has provided commentary on CNN, BBC, NBC Nightly News, Fox, Al Jazeera, National Public Radio and many others. His writings and views have appeared in leading publications/websites including the New York Time- International Herald Tribune, Financial Times, U.S. News & World Report, Le Figaro, El Pais, Daily Star, Al Hayat, South China Morning Post and many others.
Vicenzino is a regular guest speaker, panelist, panel moderator and participant at international conferences, forums and institutes around the world. His public-speaking engagements on topics of global concern have included appearances in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. He also regularly hosts public and private high-level gatherings and roundtables.
As part of the State Department’s Strategic Speakers Initiative, Vicenzino is regularly called upon by the State Department to speak on world affairs in different countries around the world. One State Department official recently referred to a series of speeches given by Vicenzino in Europe about U.S. foreign policy and Afghanistan as “a complete success”. Vicenzino is also a guest speaker for the
Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), an international organization of company presidents from around the world. Vicenzino’s appearances in the US include the Department of Defense, US Naval Academy at Annapolis, World Bank, Council on Foreign Relations, Columbia University, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, Northwestern’s Graduate School of Journalism and other venues. He has also been called upon to testify before the Permanent Council of Organization of American States.
Vicenzino is director of the
Global Strategy Project and senior advisor to PFC Energy and Quantum Financial Advisors. He is also a fellow of the
Foreign Policy Association and strategic advisor to the
Afghanistan World Foundation. Vicenzino served as strategic communications consultant to the World Bank and Deputy Executive Director for the Washington, DC office of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS-US).
As an attorney admitted to the New York Bar, Mr. Vicenzino focused on international business transactions and government relations and taught International Law at the School of International Studies at American University in Washington, DC. As a business entrepreneur, Mr. Vicenzino served as founding member, general counsel and head of business development of the MapNetwork, an international technology enterprise, which is today owned by Nokia. As a social entrepreneur, Mr. Vicenzino has dedicated extensive time and efforts as an advocate and activist for humanitarian causes, particularly for the plight of Afghanistan. He continues to serve as an advisor to corporations and non-profits seeking expansion and opportunities in the U.S and overseas.
Vicenzino’s professional associations have included Term Membership of the Council on Foreign Relations, National Press Club, French-American Foundation, Atlantik Brucke, US-Spain Council, BMW Foundation, German Marshall Fund, Aspen Institute's Socrates Society, Aspen Berlin, Aspen Italia and the German Council on Foreign Relations. His languages include Spanish, Italian and Portuguese and he provides regular commentary in these respective languages.
Issuing a National Security Strategy (NSS) every four years has become a White House tradition since being mandated by Congress. The multilateral tone of President Obama’s first NSS is an updated version of the spirit of previous documents. Though rhetorically different from the Bush administration, it is not a radical departure. In substance, continuity prevails. The pursuit and promotion of U.S. national interests around the world will not be dictated by a piece of paper. Necessity and circumstances, and not intention, will regularly determine strategy. Policy assumes a more reactive and less pro-active role.
Each administration wishes to attach its name to a doctrine and identify itself with a set of principles and goals. In reality, the NSS is not a strategy but a national security wish-list which outlines what an administration aspires to but does not necessarily pursue or live up to. The adage that actions speak louder than words clearly applies to the realm of national security. Ultimately, actions will determine any president’s historical doctrine.
This NSS is largely a rhetorical exercise in foreign policy used as reference point for Congress, media, diplomats and chattering classes at home and abroad. It reflects a need to re-assert America’s values and what it stands for.
The NSS’s value varies according to how candid a president wishes to be. Media and think-tankers will comb through its fine details to make clear distinctions between the current and past administrations. Long articles will result expounding the deep philosophical differences between Obama and Bush.
It is important not to take a literal interpretation of the NSS. It lays out the Obama administration’s thinking but not exactly its course of action. In a fast-moving world of constantly new emerging threats one must be prepared for all contingencies and capable of adapting to immediate crises and rising challenges. Concepts like pre-emptive action need no elaboration on paper. It was unnecessarily done in the 2002 strategy review. When considered responsibly, it is already implied in a nation’s defense. In situations where there is a clear and present danger, it is the duty of any leader to take appropriate measures. Self-preservation goes to the core of national security and any accompanying documents.
When outlining political intentions on the domestic front, officials are often held to account. This underscores the need to exercise even greater caution in the use of words and rhetoric in the realm of national security. Providing excessive detail is counter-productive. It will often limit the ability to act. It also increases vulnerability to charges of hypocrisy, particularly when perceptions arise that self-imposed standards are not being lived up to. Such situations can inflict immediate and long-term damage to one’s credibility, and is often irreversible. The stakes increase when others have a vested interest in taking a literal interpretation of a strategy document for political advantage.
Ultimately, flexibility and a loose interpretation of any National Security Strategy is essential to the national interest and defense.
Marco Vicenzino is director of the Global Strategy Project in Washington, D.C. He provides global political risk analysis for corporations and regular commentary on foreign affairs for publications/media outlets worldwide. He can be reached at msv@globalsp.org.
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