CIAO DATE: 09/2009
Volume: 32, Issue: 3
July 2009
Toward a Third Generation of International Institutions: Obama's UN Policy (PDF)
Thomas G. Weiss
By nominating his confidante, Susan E. Rice, as ambassador to the United Nations and restoring the post's cabinet status, President Barack Obama enunciated his ‘‘belief that the UN is an indispensable-and imperfect-forum.''
Toward Effective Multilateralism: Why Bigger May Not Be Better (PDF)
Thomas Wright
The past eight years have been a period of retreat and revival for multilateralism. Retreat in the face of the most concerted unilateralist strategy undertaken by a U.S. administration in half a century, and revival because, during the Bush administration's second term, there was an emerging political consensus that multilateralism was a critical element of U.S. power.
A European View on the Future of Multilateralism (PDF)
Manuel Lafont Rapnouil
In 2003, trying to convince member states to reform the United Nations, former secretary-general Kofi Annan contended at the General Assembly that the international community was at ‘‘a fork in the road'': in his mind, member states had to decide whether it is possible to continue on the basis agreed in 1945, when the UN was founded, or whether radical changes are needed.
Mastering Global Financial Crises: a German Perspective (PDF)
Jörg Asmussen
The world economy has experienced a downturn of historical dimensions since the onset of 2009. Almost everywhere, production has declined rapidly, world trade has virtually collapsed, and the recession has spread to all major economic regions. The global financial crisis is the culmination of an exceptional boom in credit growth and leverage in the financial system. Low interest rates, abundant liquidity, and low volatility prompted investors to search for higher yields without an adequate appreciation of related risks.
Why Has the United States Not Been Attacked Again? (PDF)
Lewis Dunn, Dallas Boyd, James Scouras
Asked shortly before leaving office to identify his ‘‘greatest accomplishment'' as president, George W. Bush expressed his pride in ‘‘keeping America safe.'' Political commentator Peggy Noonan observed that the judgment ‘‘newly re-emerging as the final argument'' for Bush's presidency is that he succeeded in preventing another attack on the scale of September 11, 2001.
Containing Iran?: Avoiding a Two-Dimensional Strategy in a Four-Dimensional Region (PDF)
Dalia Dassa Kaye, Frederic Wehrey
One of the most significant effects of the Iraq war is Iran's seemingly unprecedented influence and freedom of action in regional affairs, presenting new strategic challenges for the United States and its regional allies. Although Middle Eastern governments and the United States are in general agreement about diagnosing Tehran's activism as the war's most alarming consequence, they disagree on how to respond.
The United States, India, and Global Governance: Can They Work Together? (PDF)
Teresita C. Schaffer
Two snapshots convey the flavor of India's pursuit of a larger role in global governing councils. The first dates from India's most recent accession for a two-year term to the United Nations Security Council in January 1991, just as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was coming apart and the end of the Cold War was in sight.
Embracing Chinese Global Security Ambitions (PDF)
Jonathan Holslag
Three warships sailed through the Straits of Malacca in December last year, en route to a milestone in recent Chinese military history. Joining the United Nations-backed international naval force in the Gulf of Aden, China sought to protect its global economic interests with military power for the first time.
Understanding the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy Debate (PDF)
Christopher F. Chyba, J. D. Crouch
The National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 requires the U.S. secretary of defense to conduct a nuclear posture review (NPR) in consultation with the secretaries of energy and state, and to report the results to Congress before the end of 2009. The NPR, therefore, will be the Obama administration's forum for reviewing U.S. nuclear weapons policy, posture, and related programmatic and technical issues.
The 2009 Israeli Election: A Bump in the Road to Peace? (PDF)
Jonathan Marcus
Israeli voters went to the polls in February 2009 for the fifth time in a decade. The campaign was overshadowed by the December 2008 Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip: air operations beginning just two days after Christmas and Israeli ground operations following during the early days of the New Year.
Shaping the Choices of a Rising China: Recent Lessons for the Obama Administration (PDF)
Thomas J. Christensen
President Barack Obama ran a successful campaign on the theme of change. Yet, for addressing what is perhaps the greatest long-term strategic challenge facing the United States - managing U.S. relations with a rising China - change is not what is needed. President George W. Bush's strategy toward China is an underappreciated success story and the Obama administration would be wise to build on that success rather than attempt to radically transform U.S. policy toward China.
The Obama Administration and the Americas: A Promising Start (PDF)
Abraham F. Lowenthal
Because the new administration of President Barack Obama inherited the most demanding agenda, both at home and abroad, that any U.S. government has faced in many decades, few observers expected that it would devote much attention to U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean. None of the countries of the Americas presents an imminent threat to U.S. national security.