CIAO DATE: 09/03

International Affairs

March 2003

• What is to be done? Foreign Policy as a site for political action  by Hill C.

  Foreign policy is a concept that has been neglected academically in recent years. Politically it has been given more attention, but mostly as a vehicle for ethical projects. This is a pity given that the content of foreign policy has expanded, through domestic and foreign affairs becoming more intertwined, that public interest is growing and that the area always involves multiple goals and complex trade-offs. It is argued here that foreign policy is in fact a crucial site for political argument and choice in the modern world, especially for democratic states, and that it is not enough to take a systemic view of international relations, such as those provided by neo-realism or globalization. Foreign policy provides us with a focal point for the debate about political agency — that is, how we may act on the world, and with what effects — which we avoid at our peril. This article analyses the nature of the political space represented by foreign policy, and the diverse kinds of strategy — some highly extrovert, others introverted and cautious — which states pursue in its name. Three cases arising out of the UK's experience, in relation to rogue states, the 'ethical foreign policy' and EU enlargement, are considered before a final brief discussion of the importance of foreign policy to the lives of the wider public.

• The United States, the United Nations and Iraq: 'multilateralism of a kind'  by Dunne M.

  Much is made of the need for any second war against Iraq (following Desert Storm of 1991) to be sanctioned by a resolution of the UN Security Council, approved necessarily by all five Permanent Members. Yet only two of the five, the USA and the UK, show any enthusiasm for renewed war in the Persian Gulf; and British policy is undeniably following rather than leading American actions on the diplomatic and military fronts. What are the sources of this American policy? Some critics say oil; the latest arguments of the proponents invoke humanitarian concerns; somewhere between the two are those who desire 'regime change' to create the economic and political conditions in which so-called western political, economics and social values can flourish. To understand the present crisis and its likely evolution this article examines American relations with Iraq in particular, the Persian GUlf more generally and the Middle East as a region since the Second World War. A study of these international relations combined with a critical approach to the history of American actions and attitudes towards the United Nations shows that the United States continues to pursue a diplomacy blending, as occasion suits, the traditional binaries of multilateralism and unilateralism — yet in the new world-wide 'war on terrorism'. The question remains whether the chosen means of fighting this war will inevitably lead to a pyrrhic victory for the United States and its ad hoc allies in the looming confrontation with Iraq.

• Myths, Motivations and 'Misunderestimaterions': The Bush Administration and Iraq  by Dunn D.H.

  This article explores the myths and motivations behind US foreign policy towards Iraq in America's 'war on terrorism'. It argues that the foreign policy of the Bush adminstration is widely misunderstood and that much of the debate about Iraq policy that has taken place has been conducted at an unhelpful level of analysis. It addresses arguments that the Bush administration is motivated by oil, revenge or hubris as well as the more mainstream arguments that an attach on Iraq would provoke instability through the entire Middle East, as well as encouraging futher acts of and support for murderous terrorism; that there is no urgency to act against Iraq as containment and deterrence remain adequate means to manage this threat; and that Iraq should be a lower priority than dealing with North Korea. It does this by analysing the development of American foreign policy thinking on the war of terrorism, what motivates it, and why it rejects the arguments of its critics. Ths article explains the intellectual provess by which the US decided upon this course of action and how Europe's failure to understand this process added to its incomprehension of American policy. It does not argue that European's opposition would have been swept aside had they better understood the Bush administration, the central disagreement about the necessity and prudence of military action versus containment remains, but that such an understanding would have allowed for a better and more focused level of debate than the one which have allowed for a better and more focused level of debate than the one which has got us to this point. Nor does it argue that the Bush administration appoach is necessarily persuasive or justified, merely that its case is reasoned and explicable in tersm of America's foreign policy traditions.

• Policekeeping is the Key: Rebuilding the Internals Security Architecture of Postwar Iraq  by Day G.; Freeman C.

  The main problem following an US-led international intervention in Iraq will be re-establishing widespread and sustainable governance. It is probable that with the removal of repressive political authority, state control will falter and crime rates boom. This can be countered through an internationla civil administration with law and order as a guiding mandating principle. Order could be ensured by 'policekeeping', via a large 'blue force' of primarily Muslim gendarmerie from aurrounding nations. Reliance on military peacekpeeing is precarious because of the political sensitivities in the case of Iraq. The blue force would form the foundaiton of the new internal security architecture in Iraq, and would act to precent fragmentation and civil war. The role of policekeeping is to preempt and combat ethnic, religious, and political violence, economic crime and the establishment of shadow netowkrs, as well as policing regular crime including those of property and public order. A further vital task would be the development of domestic judicial and policing capacity, which provide an exit strategy for the international mission and the beginnings of a representative and regionally devolved governance structure. These tasks could be financed through a modification of the current oil for food programme, finally trnasferring this wealth back into Iraq society. The goal would be to construct a self-sustaining democratic and economically functional state governed by the rule of law, one that can serve as a political beacon for the region.

• Beyond the Family of Man: Photography and Cultural Diplomacy  by Kennedy L.

  American cultural diplomacy has taken on fresh significance in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States and there has been increasing support within the US State Department for initiatives to promote the diplomatic role of culture in the 'war against terrorism'. This article considers one such initiative: the photographic exhibition, After September 11: Images from Ground Zero which is touring the world over three years with substantial support from American diplomatic missions. This exhibition is clearly intended to shape and maintain a public memory of the attacks on the World Trade Center and their aftermath. As such, is is a fascinating initiative in cultural diplomacy that schoes structures of Cold War propagandizing yet asks fresh questions about the role of visual culture in American foreign policy in the digital age. The article exmaines the origins of this exhibition and considers tensions that exist between its aesthetic components and the ideological framework that surrounds its implementation.

• Hemispheric Integration and Subregionalism in the Americas  by Phillips N.

  The project to construct a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is unique in its attempt to integrate and build on existing subregional blocs. The impact of the hemispheric integration procedss on subregionalism can best be understood not through a simplistic strengthening/weakening dichotomy, but rather as involving a substantial reconfiguration of subregional projects. This article focuses on the manifestations of this relationship in the case of the Mercosur, which comparative glances at other subregions. It pays particular attention on the one hand to strategic 'bloc bargaining' issues, and on the other to the policy challenges generated by the FTAA project, which form the twin pillars of the reconfigured form of subregionalism that is currently emerging.

• Mercosur and Brazil: A European Perspective  by Klom A.

  Brazil is the core state of South America and sustains an alliance called Mercosur. Mercosur was the focus of much European attention during the 1990s, both political and economically, attracting large amounts of investment to the region. Brazil has difficulties pursuing the Mercosur integration process to its logical end, with resistance coming from both developmentalist visions of the past and industrial interests in the present. Mercosur has drawn Brazil closer to the European Union, functioning well as an instrument of Brazil's external ambitions, though also exposing it to the risk of free trade with Europe. For both Mercosur and EU-Mercosur relations to remaind useful to current Brazilian ambitions, they must remain short of achieving their final goals and linger in a prolonged state of negotiation. Some EU states also prefer this solution. After four years of preparations Mercosur entered into negotiations with the EU in 1999, and since then EU-Mercosur negotiations have passed through several dramatic phases, often influenced by international political and economic developments, both in Europe and in Mercosur itself. The current Mercosur economic crisis impedes further progress in integration and also delays the EU-Mercosur process. The election of Lula da Silva as president of Brazil is not expected substantially to change the course of Brazilian policies towards Mercosur and the EU, through, faced with the challenge of reviing Mercosur, the president might have to make difficult choices with regard to Brazil's own interests. Through an EU-Mercosur agreement Lula could resucitate the Argentinian and Uruguayan economies, though this might be at a cost for Brazil. Will Brazil will be willing to pay this price in order to preserve Mercosur?

• Mrecosur: A Failing Development Project?  by Mecham M.

  Latin American is a developing region. Although it is different from other such regions it shares with them 'the challenge of change', particularly as a result of globalization. Its response has been to embrace democracy, neoliberal restructuring and 'new (open) regionalism'. The 'Common Market of the South' — Mercosur — was an important regional initiative involving Argentina and Brazil, and included in its various aims was the acceleration of 'economics development with social justice'. This article explores to what extent development aims have beena chieved and whether Mercosur is little more than a loose confederation of states unable to build institutional structures that could help development. To what extent is this the result of traditions that have entrenched elites and precented a more egalitarian approach? Has the law generally failed its citizens? Or does it have a place in development? The article begins by briefly considering the concept of 'development' and seeks to place Latin American within the 'development framework' and questions whether there is a distinct Latin American development tradition. Within that tradition, and in the context of the 'inter-American system' and globalization, the development of Mercosur is assesed both in terms of institution building and legal traditions. Finally, some prelimiary conclusions are drawn about Mercosur's future and the extent to which institutional and other constraints have contributed to Mercosur falling short of its developmental potential.

• The Relevance of the 'Irrelevant': Football as a Missing Dimension in the Study of British Relations with Germany  by Beck P.J.

  This article has been developed and updated from a paper delivered at the Grossbritannien-Zentrum, Humboldt University at Berlin, June 2000. Traditionally, sport has been marginalized, even treatede as an irrelevance, in the study of International Relations (IR). The 2002 World Cup Finals raised yet again questions about the realism of continuing to write sport out of IR, and particularly to ignore its impact upon such relationships as those between Britain and Germany. Football's role is mirroring, influencing and articulating British perceptions of Germany, at least at the popular and media level, is presented as a case-studym since the football field proved another important British-German battleground throughout the twentieth century. This trend continues. Already, three high profile football internationals played during 2000-1 as well as rivalry to host the 2006 World Cup tournament have illuminated the problematic state of the British-German relationship, particularly the fact that history, most notably world ward imagery, impart an enduring extra-sporting sub-text for any England-Germany footballing encounter.