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By Joshua Foust and Paul Meinshausen
28 Jul 2010
World Politics Review
As Gen. David Petraeus takes over the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan,
he is right to continue a strategy of counterinsurgency and to strengthen it with a plan that seeks to give local Afghan communities the means to defend themselves. However, both the recently announced local defense plan and the
over-arching counterinsurgency of which it is a part take the wrong
path to reducing violence in Afghanistan.
By Richard Gowan and Bruce D. Jones
26 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
International officials like talking about conflict
prevention, but they are uncomfortable talking about how
conflicts actually work. Instead, they talk about how greed and natural
resources fuel violence, reducing rapacious governments and marauding
rebels to rational economic actors. Left
unexamined are the questions of how and why politicians decide whether
or not to stir up or harness popular angst.
By Amy Lieberman
21 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Though foreign aid to Haiti is reaching the
government at a sluggish rate, waves of assistance to international aid
organizations working there continue to flow. But a continued reliance on organizations such as the Red Cross and Oxfam International could place Haiti on an unsustainable
path -- one that circumvents the broken national government and excludes
the Haitian people from rebuilding their own country.
By Joshua Gross
19 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Lists of proscribed terrorist groups are an important element of U.S. counterterrorism policy. But
they are a blunt instrument -- too
resistant to modification when political realities shift. Worst of all, they force the U.S. to adopt a uniform policy that
disregards the variety among terrorist entities in size, location,
ideology and capabilities -- and the differences in how they might
respond to incentives and disincentives.
By Ambassador Erlan Idrissov
14 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Last month, the Conference for Interaction and Confidence-Building
Measures in Asia (CICA) passed an historic milestone, as 36 Asian nations met for the first time
outside of Kazakhstan for a summit meeting in Istanbul. Regrettably,
Western media coverage of the summit focused almost exclusively on one
sensational event: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's tirade
against Israel's interception of the Freedom Flotilla to Gaza.
By Michael A. Cohen
09 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
In the two weeks since Gen. David Petraeus was nominated to be the new
commander for U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan, continuity has
been the dominant theme in describing what his replacement of ousted
Gen. Stanley McChrystal represents. But
continuity is the worst possible option for U.S. efforts in Afghanistan,
because it would mean maintaining a strategy that appears increasingly
unlikely to succeed.
By Eric Sterner
08 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Since cyberspace's creation, the U.S. government has struggled with
protecting it. Part of the problem lies with the fact that policymakers are still
unsure how to treat cyber attacks. Are they acts of war? Crimes?
Intelligence operations? Once authorities categorize an attack, they
can use existing policymaking frameworks to deal with
it. But for now, policy development is stalled while the country tries to sort out the
answers.
By Andrew Futter
02 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
The Obama
administration's next step in its pursuit of a new strategic partnership
with Russia appears to be establishing some type of joint collaboration
on ballistic missile defense. These recent efforts should be applauded. Reaching such an agreement is unlikely to be easy, but the
potential diplomatic, strategic and political rewards warrant making BMD cooperation a top foreign policy priority.
By Cole J. Harvey
01 Jul 2010 |
World Politics Review
Last week, the U.S. Congress approved updated Iran
sanctions legislation, expanding the scope of existing
U.S. sanctions against Iran, and in particular, its petroleum industry.
The new
legislation, if utilized judiciously in conjunction with multilateral
sanctions imposed by the U.N. and the EU, could
begin to put real economic and diplomatic pressure on Iran to resume
negotiations over its nuclear program.
By Chris Bronk
29 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
Since late last year, members of the U.S. Congress have introduced
no less than 34 different bills dealing with information security and
Internet policy.
Congress
has been working diligently in an effort to do something -- anything, really
-- about hardening the nation's cyber-infrastructure. Among the challenges they face is that it remains difficult to
realistically prioritize when it comes to cyber vulnerabilities.
By Eric Sterner
25 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
The commentary on Gen. Stanley McChrystal's removal has focused on civil-military
relations and the domestic political implications for President Barack Obama's national
security image. But those who focus on McChrystal's
impolitic comments as
justification for his departure risk missing the larger point -- namely,
the contradictions and fecklessness of a policy that created the
frustration on the ground to begin with.
By Fabio Scarpello
16 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
DENPASAR, Indonesia -- Six weeks after violent standoffs between
Thailand's Red Shirt opposition and government forces, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva seems
to have learned little from the recent past and is wasting another
chance to work toward a stable reconciliation in the crisis-plagued
country. Instead, there are many indications that he is simply using the post-crisis
period to consolidate his power base.
By Innocent Madawo
14 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
The World Cup comes at a time when South Africa has been on a steady slide in all aspects of its national
identity. Over and above all the sporting and cultural benefits that
come with hosting the world's most-lucrative sporting event, South
Africa hopes to use the accompanying high profile to mend its
increasingly fractious politics, a deteriorating economy and a social
system that is becoming more dysfunctional.
By Iain Mills
11 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
BEIJING -- Washington's continued faith in a North Korea strategy that has shown no tangible results has been further challenged by
recent indications that China's approach of economic engagement is
increasing Beijing's leverage over the regime of Kim Jong-Il. The time
has come for the U.S. to fundamentally rethink its North Korea policy,
and the engagement model offers a clear alternative for the way forward.
By Neri Zilber
04 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
The Israeli assault on the Gaza aid flotilla immediately brought to mind
Talleyrand's famous observation: It was worse than a crime; it was a
mistake. Israel's international standing has been eroded significantly
over the past several years as a direct result of its policy towards
Gaza. Now the only way that Israel can move forward from this latest
and tragic mistake is to understand its root causes.
By Elizabeth Iskander and Minas Monir
03 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
Since his return to Egypt and dramatic entry into the Egyptian political
spotlight, Mohamed ElBaradei has attracted support from various
political blocs, who tout the
former head of the IAEA as a hero.
However, the enthusiasm with which many Egyptians have joined his campaign is based largely on frustration
and a desire for social and political change, rather than actual support
for ElBaradei himself.
By Miles E. Taylor
01 Jun 2010 |
World Politics Review
Last week, President Barack Obama released his first
National Security Strategy. Observers have had a difficult time characterizing the strategy
document, mainly because, in many regards, it appears similar to to past national security
policy declarations in
substance. But when you drill down into the text, the NSS reveals a lot both in what it doesn't say
on important subjects, as well as in what it does say on others.
By Judah Grunstein
27 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
It is by now the consensus view that the primary strategic beneficiary
of the Iraq War has been Iran. By this view, the removal of a hostile regime in Baghdad has not only
moved Iraq into the Iranian sphere of influence, but has also opened the
floodgates for Tehran to extend its influence westward throughout the
Middle East. But if Iran has "won" the Iraq War, just what has it
really won?
By Daniel M. Kliman
24 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
In discussing the nuclear fuel swap deal that
Brazil and Turkey brokered with Iran last week, the focus has been on whether the deal will resolve the standoff over Iran's nuclear
program, as well as what the deal says about Brazil and
Turkey's growing prominence. But the
real meaning has gone overlooked: The
dominant trend of the early 21st century is the rise of democratic
powers to positions of regional and even global influence.
By Thomas Young
18 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
During Britain's recent parliamentary elections, Liberal Democrat leader
Nick Clegg argued that the U.K. should scrap the proposed
"like-for-like" replacement of its submarine-based
nuclear deterrent with a similar modernized system. Although such proposals may lead to financial savings, they are flawed and could have strategic and political implications
for both the United Kingdom and its NATO allies.
By Paul J. Smith
14 May 2010 |
World Politics Review
Although the Greek debt crisis is generally viewed as an economic issue, its larger significance may ultimately lie within the
geopolitical realm. As leaders in virtually every developed
country, including the United States, are beginning to realize, they,
too, will sooner or later face the same sort of fiscal challenges now
confronting Athens. Eventually, this will put
pressure on defense budgets and, ultimately, on alliance structures.
