Originally published on the CGS blog on January 11, 2010.
It is axiomatic that “global problems require global solutions.” International institutions have been created to resolve a whole range of practical problems, including the issues created by international air travel and, specifically, screening passengers and luggage for explosives.
In reaction to the attempted detonation of an explosive device on a flight landing in Detroit on Christmas Day, the United States has unilaterally imposed additional screening requirements on certain travelers. As a short-term emergency measure, there may be some merit in this. In the heat of the moment, we should not lose sight of the fact that America’s ultimate security in screening international passengers rests on international cooperation.
The United States participates in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), an international body that establishes and regularly updates security requirements for international air travel. To the extent that evaluations now conclude that additional of different screening requirements should be imposed, the U.S. should work within the framework of the ICAO to make these the new standard.
Security in international travel cannot be effectively imposed by one nation alone, not even a nation as powerful as the United States. First of all, whatever standards we want to achieve, they will be more effectively and consistently achieved through international cooperation. In addition, the unilateral imposition of travel security standards runs the risk of opening up a something like a “trade war” in security standards. If more stringent security standards for the U.S. are effective, they will make other nations fear that their standards are too lax, spurring them to ratchet up their standards as well, perhaps even more. Other nations may try to unilaterally impose security requirements that the United States cannot or does not desire to match. A cycle in which different countries impose increasing and increasingly inconsistent standards is not good for anyone. Inconsistencies in standards and inconsistencies in the timing of imposing new standards open opportunities to those who would threaten the security of travel.
Security in international air travel is another example of a circumstance where the long-term best interests of the United States are met through international cooperation in global institutions.
