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September/October 2002
Comments
Can the EU Hack the Balkans? by Morton Abramowitz and Heather Hurlburt
Once again, history is being written in the Balkans. This perennial hotspot is becoming a testing ground for Brussels — and for a new transatlantic relationship.
[500-word preview]
From North-South to South-South by Robert J.S. Ross and Anita Chan
Competition in the production of export goods is depressing workers' wages in the countries of the South. Future trade deals must give labor rights their due.
[500-word preview]
Advancing Peace in ihe Middle East by A. Robert Abboud and Newton N. Minow
The conflict in the Middle East may seem hopeless, but the United States and the West still have a key resource to bring to the search for peace: economic development.
[500-word preview]
One Year Later
Bush and the World by Michael Hirsh
George W. Bush experienced the terrible new reality of terrorism on September 11 as directly and emotionally as did any other American. The difference was that he could do something about it. Days after the attacks, the president first gave voice to his doctrine: you are either with us, or with the terrorists. But one year later, there is little clarity about the direction of U.S. foreign policy. To fight terrorism and protect U.S. interests and ideals, the only practical solution is to bolster the international community that the United States helped create.
America's Imperial Ambition by G. John Ikenberry
The concepts emerging from the Bush administration's war on terrorism form a neoimperial vision in which the United States arrogates to itself the global role of setting standards, determining threats, and using force. These radical ideas could transform today's world order in a way that the end of the Cold War did not. The administration's approach is fraught with peril and likely to fail. If history is any guide, it will trigger resistance that will leave America in a more hostile and divided world.
[500-word preview]
The Inadequacy of American Power by Michael Mandelbaum
American supremacy — military, economic, and social — is so overwhelming it can no longer be denied. Nor can the supremacy of three ideas that have come to dominate the global system: peace, democracy, and free markets. Yet none of these three ideas is universally practiced or completely secure. And U.S. power, although good at achieving many things, may not be suited to the most important task: defending, maintaining, and expanding these goals around the world.
[500-word preview]
Public Diplomacy and the War on Terrorism by Peter G. Peterson
To combat terrorism effectively, America must do more to communicate with the Muslim world, argues the Independent Task Force on Public Diplomacy sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. The United States should establish a coordinating structure for public diplomacy efforts, promote private-sector involvement through a "Corporation for Public Diplomacy," and increase government public-relations resources.
[500-word preview]
Essays
China's Governance Crisis by Minxin Pei
Predicting the outcome of China's upcoming leadership succession has become a popular parlor game in certain Washington circles. But a focus on power plays in Beijing misses the real story: China is facing a hidden crisis of governance. Whoever they are, the new leaders will have to deal with a failing state, an ailing party apparatus, and rising social tensions if they wish to sustain China's economic growth.
Japan's Dual Hedge by Eric Heginbotham and Richard J. Samuels
After September 11, Tokyo was quick to declare its support for the U.S. war in Afghanistan. Much of the promised military assistance quickly evaporated, however, because Japan covets its business ties around the world, even those with U.S. enemies, and is loath to jeopardize these lucrative links. Tokyo defines security in economic, not just military, terms — even when this means parting company with Washington.
[500-word preview]
What Kind of War for Colombia? by Julia E. Sweig
Colombia has just inaugurated a hard-line president, Alvaro Uribe, who has promised to crack down on the country's left-wing insurgents and right-wing paramilitaries. Meanwhile, U.S. aid is flooding in, and since September 11, American efforts have shifted from fighting drugs to battling subversives. Peace will not come, however, until Bogota rebuilds neglected state institutions and starts providing real security.
The Death of a Treaty by Terry L. Deibel
Despite its widespread public approval and strong White House support, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was voted down by the U.S. Senate in October 1999. How this happened is a story at once highly predictable and totally surprising, a story, for good or ill, of democracy at work in foreign affairs.
[500-word preview]
The Future of Conservation by Steven Sanderson
Wild nature is in deep distress, and the international institutions charged with Earth's care are not managing it with an eye on sustainability. The conservation community must step forward to promote what governments will not: science-based conservation along with poverty alleviation at the fragile ecological frontier.
[500-word preview]
Poles and Jews by Abraham Brumberg
An investigation into Polish atrocities against Jews during World War II has prompted a divisive, painful debate about antisemitism and what it means to be Polish. In rectifying one chapter of the historical record, the new research has magnified the heritage that still holds Poland back from becoming a truly pluralistic democracy.
[500-word preview]
Reviews & Responses
Calling the Shots by Lawrence D. Freedman
In Supreme Command, Eliot Cohen shoots down the myth that politicians should not meddle with the military during wartime. Focusing on four great civilian leaders, he shows that the opposite is true: disasters can result when politicians are not involved enough.