CIAO DATE: 11/2012
Volume: 11, Issue: 2
Summer/Fall 2010
Match Point: Sports, Nationalism, and Diplomacy
Julia Famularo, Sarath Ganji
Introduction (PDF)
Victor D. Cha
A mutual love for sport is shared by diverse peoples across the globe. Sport has the power to transcend ethnicity, religion, and class and, in turn, bring together a nation in support of a common team and a shared identity. As such, the reach of sport into every demographic of society has profound implications for the nation-state. In South Africa, the connections between race and rugby come to the fore in anticipation of the 2010 World Cup. Taiwan’s successful World Games provided an opportunity for the island’s citizens to showcase their unique national identity and for the nation to gain critical international breathing space. Sport can also translate across borders and lend succor to diplomatic efforts, as demonstrated by the mutual love of baseball between Cubans and Americans. This Forum examines how the pervasive influence of sport has created opportunities for unity and reconciliation worldwide, turning a pastime into an element of nationalism and diplomacy.
The Death of Doubt? Sport, Race, and Nationalism in the New South Afric (PDF)
Derek Charles Catsam
Cross-Strait Tug of War: Taiwan and the World Games
Junwei Yu
Sports without Diplomacy: The United States, Cuba, and Baseball
Thomas Garofalo
The Fifth Estate: Think Tanks and American Foreign Policy
James G. McGann
In this increasingly complex, interdependent, and information-rich world, U.S. policymakers face the common challenge of bringing expert knowledge to bear in governmental decision making. American think-tanks are well-positioned to provide alternative views to administrations and foster debate on contentious topics.
A Smart Use of Intelligence: Preventing Genocide and Mass Killing (PDF)
Lawrence Woocher
The intelligence community is uniquely placed to support U.S. government agencies tasked with preventing mass atrocities and genocide. But to be effective, it should conduct long-term assessments, produce watch lists, identify potential high-risk situations, and design and implement preventive strategies.
Right Intentions, Wrong Approaches: The Response to North Korea's Human "Wrongs" Problem
Balbina Hwang
The challenge of addressing North Korean human rights abuses remains a polarized, politically sensitive, and intractable problem within the international diplomatic arena. This article analyzes how the issue has been addressed and offers suggestions for a new approach.
Sovereignty on Borrowed Territory: Sahrawi Identity in Algeria
Randa Farah
Sahrawi refugees have been able to establish a sense of united sovereignty in Algerian camps, despite obstruction from neighboring Morocco.
Ghana's Fragile Elections: Consolidating African Democracy through E-Voting
Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko
Despite being heralded as a democratic success story, Ghana’s elections are prone to irregularities, which undermine its prospects for democracy. Civil society organizations are therefore promoting a biometric registration and electronic voting system to ensure credible elections and political stability.
Wither Medical Marijuana (PDF)
Lester Grinspoon
Although marijuana possesses many medical benefits and few proven detrimental side-effects, its legalization remains a controversial issue. The author explores the medicinal qualities of cannabis, the efforts of the pharmaceutical industry to capitalize on such benefits, and government inefficiencies in realizing the potential of decriminalizing such a drug.
Cannabis Captiva: Freeing the World from Marijuana Prohibition
Stephen B. Duke
Marijuana prohibition is a practice exercised by nations around the world—not just the United States. Drug control, in the case of marijuana, is ill-conceived and should be eliminated. A policy of decriminalization may serve as a step toward legalization.
Are Economic Sanctions Still a Valid Option?
Zachary Selden
Financial sanctions, rather than import or export sanctions, may serve as a significant economic tool to alter the behavior of non-compliant states. The merits of this approach are evaluated using Iran’s compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as a case study.
Getting Rid of Black Carbon: A Neglected but Effective Short-Term Mitigation Avenue
Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Dennis Clare, Kristina Pistone
Most policymakers and scientists focus on CO2 reduction when addressing the global warming issue. However, short-term pollutants like black carbon may provide another avenue for winning the battle against global warming.
The Search for the Killer App: Precision Farming in Africa
James Lowenberg-Deboer, Bruce Erickson
Precision agriculture, in its many forms, has had a significant impact on crop production worldwide. Although it is still searching for its “killer app,” it appears that GPS will become the most valuable type of technology in the field.
The Return of Peace (PDF)
Paula A. Newberg
A review of Reconciliation in Afghanistan by Michael Semple.
Narrating the Path Toward Genocide Prevention
Michael Morfit
A review of If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die: How Genocide Was Stopped in East Timor by Geoffrey Robinson.
Surviving Food Insecurity in North Korea (PDF)
Diana Park
As a result of the famine of the late 1990s and the subsequent food shortages, economic and social shifts in North Korean society have made it increasingly difficult for the government to control its population.
Beaten but not Broken: Tamil Women in Sri Lanka (PDF)
Tasha Manoranjan
Sri Lanka’s decades-long conflict has uniquely impacted Tamil women. They have experienced shifting cultural and political roles within Tamil society, and are uniquely affected by the government’s May 2009 victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Protecting America: Are We Doing Enough?
Philip Zelikow
Executive director of the 9/11 Commission Phillip Zelikow discusses the threat of terrorism, the detainment of enemy combatants, and civilian relations with the government.