CIAO DATE: 12/2010
Volume: 20, Issue: 0
Spring 2009
Letter from the Editors (PDF)
It is with great pleasure that we present the 2009 edition of the Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA). This is a special issue as it marks the 20th anniversary of JPIA. To celebrate this occasion, the editorial team of JPIA has updated several features of the Journal: most importantly, JPIA got a new cover design. In addition, the scope of JPIA submissions has been broadened to include policy essays and book reviews. We think that this new format allows for more flexibility for our contributors and more variety for our readers.
The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew J. Bacevich. (PDF)
Geoffrey P. MacDonald
Andrew Bacevich is angry. He has tirelessly criticized a war that has raged on longer than World War II. As a self-proclaimed conservative and Vietnam veteran, his anti-Iraq War activism is uniquely cogent. On the campus of Boston University, where he teaches International Relations, Bacevich is a folk hero, lending his unimpeachable credentials to the left-leaning inclinations of his students. But his activism has not stopped the war. It didn’t stop his son, Army First Lieutenant Andrew Bacevich, Jr., from being deployed to Iraq. And it didn’t stop 27-year-old Andrew from being killed-in-action in May of 2007. Andrew Bacevich is angry. As he well should be.
China in Africa edited by Arthur Waldron. (PDF)
Dane Erickson
In the past decade, the People’s Republic of China has made dramatic inroads on the African continent. Many believe China’s recent activities in Africa to be the most significant dynamic in international affairs on the continent since the end of the Cold War. Although China has a centurieslong history of ties with Africa, in the decades immediately following the founding of the People’s Republic in 1949 these ties were largely motivated by ideology as China moved to support African anti-colonial liberation movements and leaders. In contrast, today’s re-emergence of Chinese activities in Africa is driven by economic and political interests.
From Bosnia to Baghdad the Case for Regulating Private Military and Security Companies. (PDF)
Ruta Nimkar
Private military and security companies (PMSCs) have earned a place in the spotlight recently due primarily to charges of human rights abuses in Iraq. However, the industry has been growing rapidly for over two decades, and has had significant impact on conflicts in Sierra Leone, Bosnia, and Papua New Guinea, among others. This article examines the difference between modern military companies and mercenaries. It then outlines the factors that gave rise to the PMSC industry and analyzes the threats and opportunities associated with PMSC presence. Four case studies are presented and factors associated with positive PMSC intervention are identified. The current state of policy regarding private militaries is reviewed, and the paper closes with suggestions on future policy directions.
Barbara L. Rodriguez
As a country that embodies the union of Islamic and Western values, Turkey plays a unique role with regard to women’s rights and domestic violence. This article analyzes the state of gender and domestic violence in Turkey, and the extent to which Law 4320 on the ‘Protection of the Family’ has been effectively implemented as a means of protecting survivors of domestic violence. The article proposes five policy recommendations to deal with the challenges Turkey has encountered in implementing Law 4320. Thus, in addition to advancing Turkey’s response to domestic violence, these recommendations aim to be guidelines for other countries as they enact and implement their own legislation.
(Re) Covering the Past, Remembering the Trauma: The Politics of Commemoration at Sites of Atrocity. (PDF)
Lisa M. Moore
This article explores the current upsurge in the production of memory with the construction of memorial sites worldwide to commemorate incidences of mass violence, atrocity, and genocide. Through the two empirical lenses of Cambodia and Rwanda, it grapples with what propels the impetus to memorialize, in whose interest memorials are constructed, and how memorials may fulfill multiple and competing purposes as a form of symbolic justice or reparations to the victims, an instrument for reconciliation, a mechanism for nation-building and political legitimacy, and a pedagogical tool to inculcate the preventative lessons of “never again.” Finally, using the contemporary debate surrounding the commemoration of Ground Zero in New York City, this paper argues that the challenge for architects, policymakers, and civil actors in the construction of memorials is not only to target their design toward their intended purpose, but is also to navigate the fact that memorials are eminently present and can enact violence through their representation of the past.
State-Building from the Outside-In: UNMIK and Its Paradox. (PDF)
Nicolas Lemay-Hebert
If most of the literature on state-building has extensively covered the question of the increasing interference by United Nations peacekeeping missions, including the broadening scopes and mandates of these missions, not much has been said about the political dilemmas that the exercise of these competencies tend to create locally. This article will explore the particular legitimacy paradox affecting direct governance by an international administration. The article’s main argument is that direct governance by an international administration tends to create the conditions for its own illegitimacy, portraying the statebuilding process as exogenous to the local society. This article will specifically analyze the UN Mission in Kosovo, one of the most comprehensive and yet most challenged state-building attempts the UN has faced.
Moving Beyond Coercive Diplomacy: A New Policy Approach Toward Iran's Nuclear Ambitions. (PDF)
Brandon M. Boylan
This article reviews recent coercive measures taken by the United States in order to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and argues that an engagement policy is more likely to achieve success. Coercive approaches have included threatening a military strike, levying UN sanctions, and supporting EU economic offers, but they have not been successful in encouraging Iran to change its present course. Although the current administration is pursuing an engagement policy, it is more likely to achieve success if it articulates its approach with more substance and precision. This should consist of two dimensions. Firstly, the United States should encourage Russia to be at the forefront of diplomatic efforts since its strategic position to both the United States and Iran makes it an appropriate mediator on the nuclear issue. Secondly, the United States must strengthen its democracy promotion efforts directly among the Iranian people, which will reinforce the democratic movement in Iran in the long run.
Russia's Public Diplomacy Effort: What the Kremlin is Doing and Why It's Not Working. (PDF)
Katherine P. Avgerinos
Since 2005, the Kremlin has allocated millions of dollars to various public diplomacy initiatives in an effort to improve Russia’s international image. However, the Western media and mainstream public opinion are still highly unsympathetic toward Russia. After analyzing some basic theories of nationbranding and public diplomacy, this article argues that Russia lacks a clear and consistent public diplomacy strategy, as there is a disconnect between what the Russian government does and says in the domestic arena and the image that the Kremlin is trying to project to international audiences. Russia is still struggling to overcome the legacy of the Soviet era, and any efforts to overcome the bipolar climate of the Cold War and cooperate multilaterally have been contradicted by its reluctance to abate an ‘us-vs.-them’ mentality. The Kremlin’s inability to execute effective media campaigns further agitates anti-Russian prejudices in the West and hinders the country’s efforts to improve its international reputation.
Making Choices: Prospects for a Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement. (PDF)
Joseph Blomeley
With a population of over 500 million, the European Union (EU) is Canada’s second-largest trading partner. In 2006, two-way merchandise trade between Canada and the EU was approximately $78 billion and two-way investment reached $263 billion. While these figures are far from marginal, they pale in comparison to the $626 billion in two-way merchandise trade and $497 billion in two-way investment with the United States. In light of these numbers, analysts have argued that there is room for improvement in the economic relationship between Canada and the EU. They believe that the relationship has been significantly under-traded and under-valued. In an attempt to bolster this claim, a Canada-EU Joint Trade Study commissioned by the European Commission and the Government of Canada (GoC) recently noted that Canada is the EU’s 11th-largest merchandise trading partner, with only 1.8 percent of external EU trade in this category (GoC, 2008). In light of the financial crisis in the United States, discussions to revive talks of a Canada-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have begun to garner attention.
Improving International Policy Coordination in the Wake of the Financial Crisis. (PDF)
Jonathan Burks
The ongoing financial crisis has exposed the weaknesses of the risk management practices pervasive in the financial industry and the limitations of a domestic regulatory structure that fails to provide any federal regulator with the responsibility and authority to comprehensively oversee the financial system. Of course these problems have not been limited to the United States, as banks based abroad, like UBS, and economies around the world have also been shaken by the crisis. The crisis has also exposed the shortcomings of the international regime for economic and financial policy coordination.
Division by Addition Why a Three-State Solution is Better Than Two. (PDF)
Colin P. Clarke
As the curtain lifts on the latest installment of the Middle East’s version of a Greek tragedy, it seems that we’ve seen this act before. Hamas and Fatah continue to struggle for power, occasionally engaging in skirmishes in the West Bank and jockeying for position and influence on the Palestinian people. Indeed, on the surface, most of the components to this all too familiar play remain static.