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CIAO DATE: 11/05
Autumn 2005: Volume 28, Number 4
Provocations
A look at the ripple effects of 9/11 on American Muslims, the EU constitutional rejection on the Western Balkans, potential political integration on Hamas, and counternarcotics strategy in Afghanistan on counterterrorism.
Islam in America: Separate but Unequal (PDF, 12 pages, 72 KB)
Geneive Abdo
While Washington focuses its campaign to win hearts and minds on Muslims abroad, pressing issues will soon challenge America at home. Will the United States successfully meet the greatest challenge to its melting pot identity and domestically make room for this potent cultural and religious force?
Kosovo and Serbia after the French Non (PDF, 18 pages, 139.8 KB)
Elizabeth Pond
If the promise to let Kosovo and Serbia ultimately join the EU is now rescinded in the wake of the French referendum, the continent's remarkable democratic transformation may yet exclude the Western Balkans just as the West's long and costly commitment could finally be paying off.
Forcing Choices: Testing the Transformation of Hamas (PDF, 18 pages, 89.9 KB)
Haim Malka
Hamas is at a crossroads: although it will not disarm or renounce the use of violence now, it has been willing to participate within the bounds of the political establishment. To test Hamas's commitment, the PA must establish certain benchmarks that ultimately strengthen the rule of law.
Afghanistan: When Counternarcotics Undermines Counterterrorism (PDF, 18 pages, 98.7 KB)
Vanda Felbab-Brown
Paradoxically, counternarcotics efforts in Afghanistan frequently complicate counterterrorism and counterinsurgency objectives and can even undermine democratization. Counternarcotics strategy should concentrate instead on strengthening the Afghan state's capacity.
Multilateral Angles on North Korea
The first of two case studies on multilateralism: what interests, priorities, policies, leverage (carrots and sticks), and historical analogies do South Korea, Japan, China, and Russia bring to the North Korean nuclear issue?
Inside Multilateralism: The Six-Party Talks (PDF, 18 pages, 113 KB)
John S. Park
Despite extensive diplomatic efforts to facilitate the six-party talks, domestic policy constraints, differing priorities, and conflicting historical analogies among each of the countries have brought vastly differing perspectives to the multilateral negotiating table.
South Korea's Squeeze Play (PDF, 14 pages, 79.5 KB)
Scott Snyder
Seoul's independent options are almost nonexistent as it has been and remains trapped between obligations to its U.S. alliance and its efforts to improve relations with North Korea. Nevertheless, South Korea may choose to play a politically risky role as an honest broker.
Japan: U.S. Partner or Focused on Abductees? (PDF, 12 pages, 73.1 KB)
David C. Kang
Although some observers may perceive that Japan increasingly supports sanctions, Washington risks misunderstanding the source and depth of that support, which rests in the abductee issue, not the U.S.-Japanese alliance.
Saudi Arabia: Four Years after 9/11
Four years after the September 11 attacks, is Riyadh rooting out Al Qaeda and reforming as well as democratizing its government? Can Washington help, or are its efforts counterproductive? A look inside the House of Saud...
Rethinking Religion: The Legacy of the U.S.-Saudi Relationship (PDF, 18 pages, 101.8 KB)
Rachel Bronson
Saudi Arabia's religiosity was an asset to the U.S. during the Cold War, but it has since become a political liability. Religion is the core of the so-called battle for hearts and minds and, although profoundly uncomfortable, must be addressed as part of a strategic reformulation of the bilateral relationship.
Al Qaeda and the House of Saud: Eternal Enemies or Secret Bedfellows? (PDF, 14 pages, 86 KB)
John R. Bradley
To fight Al Qaeda, the al-Saud regime has been and continues to be part of the problem in fundamental ways, yet it is equally undeniable that it is indispensable to any solution to terrorism.
The Irony of Islah (Reform) (PDF, 18 pages, 96.7 KB)
Gwenn Okruhlik
Although meaningful social reforms are being implemented, none address the essential question of political power. By capitalizing on the fear of jihad and Al Qaeda, reform is carefully choreographed to consolidate the ruling family's centrality in national political life.
Charles Cook on Washington
Republicans have had a tough summer, but will it matter in 2006?
A Summer of Discontent (PDF, 6 pages, 52.3 KB)
Charles E. Cook Jr.
Americans seem unimpressed either by the accomplishments of Congress and the administration this year or by the agenda both are pursuing. The profound hope among Republicans is that this is just a summer of discontent and not the onset of a 2006 midterm electoral misfortune.
