There is a widespread, erroneous belief in the Arab world that the White House and the president are the most important political powers in the United States. This perception seems to have dominated Arab governments, leaders, businesses and people for many decades and reflects a deep misunderstanding of US political and economic structures. It also reflects a projection of the reality of Arab countries on to the US, in the sense of a belief among Arabs that the US is run like their own countries, where the ruler is the ultimate decision maker and, therefore, the only one who matters. This misunderstanding is what drives all Arab efforts in the US to focus, almost exclusively, on lobbying and courting the White House and the administration. Instead, they should widen their efforts to include Congress, business, the media and non-governmental organizations, among others. These people wield enormous power, often more than the president. To explain this and demonstrate a better way of making the US understand, and even sympathize more with, Arab interests and concerns, one must at least first understand the reality of the American political, economic and social structures. Given the limited space available here, I will focus on politics, although much the same applies to the economic and social dimensions of the American reality. The Constitution of the United States, the very backbone of the American system, describes how the national government, the states and local government share power. The purpose of government is to protect the rights of its citizens and, to that end, the Constitution divides the national government into three branches — executive, legislative and judicial. The powers of each branch are limited, which forms a tripartite system of “checks and balances” that grants each branch sufficient power to “check” the others. In addition, there are 50 states, each with its own constitution and even an army. These states are bound by a political union that gives them the jurisdiction to govern a specific geographic territory and share sovereignty with the federal government. States are further divided into counties that also have delegated governmental authority but no sovereignty. States function like the federal government in the sense that they also have three coequal branches of government with separate and independent powers — the legislative, executive and judiciary branches. Arabs need to remember that the US system of government is unlike any other; it depends and survives on the very idea of its citizens being able to lobby their federal, state and local governments. Hafed Al-Ghwell This multi-layered system provides American citizens with complete access to their government on all levels. It also ensures that they feel represented across all parts of this vast and complex country, where most states command as much power and wealth through a complex tax system as many countries around the world. For example, the total gross domestic product of Wyoming, the smallest US state by population — about 600,000 people — is about $42 billion, the same as that of Jordan. California, the largest state, has a GDP of $3.8 trillion, more than all 22 Arab countries combined. Delving a little deeper, there are 435 members of the US Congress, each of them representing approximately 711,000 people, and 100 senators, two for each of the 50 states. Each state also has its own elected governor, and its own House of Representatives and Senate which represent the various districts in each state. So, how to influence the United States? One of the most effective ways to have real influence with the federal government, both the executive branch (in other words the White House) and Congress, is through direct links with the states and their districts. This can happen by investing in and buying from businesses in each district, especially the small businesses that are responsible for the majority of US jobs. In doing so, any country will gain allies across the US who will feel strongly that they are a major partner and represent a major share of their business. This will make it practically impossible for the government and Congress in Washington to ignore their interests in any US policy formulations. The people in these districts will not allow that to happen and will defend that partner country with their votes and voices. To understand the real power present in these small districts and how important their jobs and economic interests are to them, I will refer to a conversation I had with one of the elders of the Republican Party, a former congressman, governor, and chief of staff to the president. He told me: “When I was in all of my positions, including the White House, I can assure you that whenever I received a call from a chief executive of one of the major corporations, I would listen and try to help, but never felt pressure to do anything to accommodate them. But when I received 10 calls from 10 small-business owners telling me that this or that country is important to their business, I sure paid attention and made sure to listen to them very carefully.” Arabs need to remember that the US system of government is unlike any other; it depends and survives on the very idea of its citizens being able to lobby their federal, state and local governments. Without this, the complete legitimacy of the system would collapse. The voice of one small community is far more powerful in Washington than any fancy lobbying firm representing a foreign government or interest. Hafed Al-Ghwell is a non-resident senior fellow with the Foreign Policy Institute at the John Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He is also senior adviser at the international economic consultancy Maxwell Stamp and at the geopolitical risk advisory firm Oxford Analytica, a member of the Strategic Advisory Solutions International Group in Washington DC and a former adviser to the board of the World Bank Group. Twitter: @HafedAlGhwell Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect Arab News" point-of-view