Issues NavigatorGlobal Challenges
Strategic RegionsDomestic DebatesTag cloudSee All Tags |
TagsMost popular
NATO Russia Iran China Afghanistan US EU Iraq Israel US Foreign Policy US elections 2008 climate change India Germany terrorism Obama democracy Bush Putin McCain globalization nuclear proliferation Middle East Poland Iraq war Kosovo Palestine Europe energy security oil
All items tagged US Foreign PolicyOpen Think Tank ArticlesJune 19, 2008 | The Dream of Afghan Democracy is DeadAnatol Lieven: NATO might fail in Afghanistan. Hopes for democracy, development, and progress in Afghanistan are already dead. Even though the situation seems hopeless, the West can and should prevent further deterioration. ... MoreJune 16, 2008 | Democrats Good, Republicans Bad?Thomas Speckmann: Examining the foreign policy of US presidents since Kennedy reveals that Germany is generally better off with the conservatives and that German military involvement will always be expected, regardless of who is elected. ... MoreJune 3, 2008 | Renewed Alliances: How to Face Today's ThreatsMark Brzezinski : President George W. Bush travels to Europe this month to participate in the US-European Union Summit and to visit key partners, including France, Germany, Italy and Britain. These summits are likely to produce joint declarations of “bon amie” and official statements that the drift in the trans-Atlantic relationship is diminished. ... MoreMay 20, 2008 | A Transatlantic Energy Security Strategy is EssentialRichard G. Lugar: We must forge a more productive relationship with Russia. The absence of a collective energy security strategy and the lack of supply diversification will lead to greater fragmentation among European nations and across the Atlantic. ... MoreMay 15, 2008 | Why NATO Slowly Fades AwayPeter van Ham: NATO is slowly losing its significance as the central platform to manage transatlantic security challenges. In view of the different reasons for the Alliance’s declining relevance, its resilience, rather than its demise should surprise us. ... MoreMay 10, 2008 | 'The Godfather' DoctrineJohn C. Hulsman and A. Wess Mitchell: Coppola’s film offers lessons in diplomacy that we can’t refuse. Rather than the liberal institutionalist and neoconservative policies of the last two decades, the next US administration should adopt a flexible realist approach to deal with the challenges of a multipolar world. ... MoreMay 7, 2008 | Dire Consequences of Ukraine and Georgia Joining NATOvalentine anatolevich akishkin: The issue of NATO enlargement and membership to NATO divides the Ukrainian people. The split reflects the countries division along ethnical and geographical lines. Integrating Ukraine into the Alliance would more likely lead to confusion and conflict than democracy. ... MoreMarch 26, 2008 | What Europe Could Expect from an Obama PresidencyJulianne Smith: If elected, Obama will attempt to reestablish a strong partnership with Europe. He should come closer to his European partners on issues such as climate change and international law, but will expect greater cooperation and support for US policies in the Middle East and Afghanistan. ... MoreMarch 20, 2008 | The Last Days of George W. Bush and the Old Ways?Fouad Naji Maarouf: George W. Bush was a disaster for the US. A change of attitude and government would bring good change. ... MoreFebruary 22, 2008 | Transatlantic Security Agenda 2008Benjamin Lucas Schoo: Vote now on what prominent security related issue the governments on both sides of the Atlantic should focus their attention on! We have identified 4 major tasks for 2008 and ask you to select which of these should be at the top of the transatlantic agenda. You can vote now on the right side. ... MoreFebruary 11, 2008 | Iran is Still Dangerous: The US Must NegotiateRalf Fuecks: The United States must offer Iran direct negotiations regarding its nuclear program. There needs to be a higher level of political and energy cooperation. ... MoreGlobal Must Read ArticlesJune 19, 2008 | Brown and Bush are Similarly FatedFor most Europeans, including the British journalist who said that he will “be remembered as a blithering idiot,” Bush’s legacy is the Iraq war. ++ On Bush’s last visit to the UK, however, Brown emphasized the president’s accomplishments and listed the common aims of British and American foreign policy: focusing on Afghanistan, reassessing Iraq, and submitting Iran to stricter sanctions. ++ In ... MoreJune 18, 2008 | Another Bad Deal for BaghdadThe parallels between the arrangement sought by Bush with the Iraq/US deal, and the defective British Iraq settlement in the 1930s, are striking. ++ The July 31st accord would free Iraq of UN sanctions and provide it with American economic and military aid. ++ 80 years ago, after Britain granted Iraq’s independence, it failed to maintain order and a wave of radical nationalist uprisings - “a ... MoreJune 17, 2008 | Iraq Starts to Fix ItselfAlbeit reversible, the situation is improving in Iraq as the government gains confidence and increasingly asserts its independence from the US and Iran. ++ Despite the lack of jobs, clean water, and electricity, Iraqis are benefiting from high oil prices and can hope for a normal future. ++ Both plans for precipitated withdrawal and remaining indefinitely are foolish. ++ Swift diplomacy is now ... MoreJune 16, 2008 | Heath Kern Gibson, Editor in Chief at DipNoteHeath Kern Gibson graduated from Denison University and received a master’s in public administration from Harvard. She is the director of digital media in the public affairs office of the State Department in Washington, where she is responsible for its Internet operation. Mrs. Kern Gibson is also the editor in chief of DipNote, the State Department’s blog, which is an alternative source for US ... MoreJune 16, 2008 | Israeli-Syrian Peace Could Stabilize Middle EastToday, a Syrian-Israeli peace, which would enable Syria to recover the Golan Heights and protect the country’s interests in Lebanon, is complicated by Syria’s alliance with Iran. ++ Yet if Syria achieves peace with Israel, its good relations to Iran could turn out to be a good thing. ++ “Syria’s stance might limit, rather than extend, the reach of Iran’s strategy of regional destabilization.” ++ ... MoreJune 13, 2008 | Chindia: A Rare Success of the Bush EraAs Bush’s term ends, the president can look back on a solid Asia legacy. ++ He successfully used India to balance China. ++ India is the world’s largest democracy, 80,000 Indian students study in the US, and trade between India and the US has increased up to $26 billion. ++ Hence, close cooperation has been established and is on the right track to be continued. ++ This balance is needed to ... MoreJune 11, 2008 | Bush Helps Saudis Go Nuclear, Who are we Securing?Bush is moving toward helping the Saudis develop a nuclear program under the guise of energy security. ++ Considering that Saudi Arabia bathes in oil and basks in sunlight, something is missing. ++ Adding a counterweight to Iran’s nuclear aspirations is what this is actually about. ++ The US should heed the lessons of history, that its addiction to oil spreads extremism and that adding nuclear ... MoreJune 9, 2008 | Turkey's Geopolitical Importance for the WestFor a long time Turkey has been a haven of geopolitical stability. ++ Yet the Iraq War has subjected Turkey’s virtually unquestioned alliance with the US to reassessment.++ Turkey’s general consensus on its EU candidacy has started crumbling because of the EU’s wavering.++ Turkey plays a crucial role in maintaining peace in the volatile Caucasus region and in promoting peace in the Middle East ... MoreJune 5, 2008 | McCain: We Should Not be Scared but PreparedThe personality of the US election winner will fundamentally shape transatlantic relations, but the fact remains that today the priorities of the EU and US differ more than ever before. ++ In the multipolar world that has succeeded the Cold War, there is no longer something “inevitable about the transatlantic alliance.” ++ Europeans who are dreaming of Obama as president should both temper their ... MoreJune 3, 2008 | US Marginalized by its Own Policy in the Middle EastThe recent easing of tensions in the Middle East, which is occurring without US mediation, reveals America’s loss of credibility and leverage. ++ Indeed, negotiations are taking place with groups and authorities the US boycotts - Syria, Hamas, and Hezbollah. ++ Yet these are the only stakeholders that can offer Lebanon and Israel the compromises they really want. ++ The US has marginalized ... MoreJune 2, 2008 | McCain Seeks Old Friends and New EnemiesBush’s unilateralism has created a rift in transatlantic relations that is unlikely to be fixed by the next US president, unless the EU and the US share a common threat. ++ McCain frames the authoritarian capitalism of China and Russia as the ideological antipode to liberal democracy. ++ If he were to follow through on his planned League of Democracies and the restructuring of the G8, this would ... MoreMay 30, 2008 | McCain's Foreign Policy: More ProcrastinationThe US position vis-a-vis Iran and North Korea has been weakened in the past several years, not out of a reluctance to engage in talks, or because of the emptiness of threats of using force, but because of a failure to formulate a clear-cut policy. ++ As the military option is unrealistic, America should focus on the many diplomatic and economic levers at its disposal. ++ John McCain’s refusal to ... MoreMay 29, 2008 | US Iran Policy Requires More FlexibilityIran cannot be prevented from acquiring nuclear power capabilities. ++ The US should therefore favor negotiation with the regime over the current threats and sanctions driven policy which merely provides for hostile relations. ++ Since “a successful approach to Iran has to accommodate its security interests and ours,” strategic deterrence should prove effective. ++ Additionally, cooperation could ... MoreMay 27, 2008 | US Losing Ground in Middle East Power GameThe Qatari-brokered power sharing agreement between Lebanon’s feuding political factions puts into perspective the new Middle East power equation, in which the US is no longer a dominant factor and the rules are now being written by regional players. ++ The accord will succeed, precisely because it is grounded in realism and ignores idealistic and unreasonable American demands. ++ Even Israel, ... MoreMay 27, 2008 | Candidates' Foreign Policy Differences are RhetoricalThe foreign policy discussion between McCain and Obama has helped portray the former as uncompromising and the latter as visionary. ++ Since US strategy in Iraq has required diplomats to negotiate with Shiite militiamen, Sunni insurgents or Iranian counterparts for years now, the candidates’ debate regarding their respective approach to negotiation is both unrealistic and hypocritical. ++ In any ... MoreMay 21, 2008 | America's Paralysis in the Face of "Hezbullahization"At the Knesset plenum, Bush’s declarations regarding America’s political and military commitment to Israel’s defense were most promising. ++ Yet the Hezbollah’s recent take over of Lebanon was met with absolute silence on behalf of the US and its Allies. ++ “America is tired, emasculated, and torn on the inside. It can only provide its protectorates in the Middle East with words.” ++ Since the US ... MoreMay 21, 2008 | The Costs and Benefits of NegotiationIn foreign policy, both Republicans and Democrats favor negotiation. ++ Yet McCain realizes “where diplomacy is appropriate, and where more fortitude is required” and this creates a distinction. ++ There are real downsides to the unconditional upholding of soft diplomacy. ++ Besides the cost of negotiation in terms of time and resources, it provides terrorists or leaders of state sponsors of ... MoreMay 15, 2008 | Bush's Failed Policy in the Middle EastDuring his last Middle East Tour, President Bush will have to accept the failure of his policies in the region. ++ Since Bush undertook to revive peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians at Annapolis in late 2007, no progress has been made. ++ The American hope for a Palestinian-Israeli agreement before the end of the year seems illusory. ++ The positions of Israeli negotiators ... MoreMay 15, 2008 | Obama's Middle East Will be Business as UsualObama advocates leading open and direct negotiations with everyone, from Iran to Cuba. ++ His opposition to the Iraq war, his rational stance on Iran, and his “understanding of US imperialism” suggest he will reshape American foreign policy. ++ Yet Obama’s readiness to compromise does not apply to the Middle East. ++ Since Obama’s presidency would provide for high expectations, the predictable ... MoreMay 14, 2008 | US on the Right Track with North KoreaThe US should continue its current path in North Korean nuclear negotiations, rather than exiting or stalling talks. ++ It should prioritize verification of North Korea’s plutonium production records, and push towards dismantlement of the Yongbyong reactor. ++ The US can then concurrently work towards confirming the extent of North Korean uranium enrichment, as well as the extent of its nuclear ... MoreMay 8, 2008 | Foreign Policy: McCain Aims High but Misses the MarkJohn McCain’s recent neoconservative foreign policy proposals are of questionable merit. ++ Reorganizing the G8 to the exclusion of Russia and China, will effectively render the organization irrelevant. ++ A League of Democracies on the other hand will impede cooperation with key nondemocratic strategic allies in areas such as terrorism and proliferation. ++ These propositions also put McCain at ... MoreMay 8, 2008 | Freedom and Democracy No Longer on the MarchWith high oil prices allowing authoritarian regimes to consolidate power, and US influence and moral authority in decline, the global trend towards democratization appears to be reversing. ++ This is particularly apparent in Zimbabwe, where President Robert Mugabe clings to power by all means and attempts to subvert elections. ++ More than ever a proactive approach by the US is needed to work ... MoreMay 7, 2008 | What Will Follow US Dominance?The end of the unipolar world is approaching. The unipolar world emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union when the bipolar era of the cold war came to an end. Yet just after one decade and a half of US supremacy, the international system is once again in the face of enormous tectonic change: In his recent essay for Foreign Policy, Richard N. Haass declares we live in a century of ... MoreMay 7, 2008 | Bleak Prospects for Peace in the Middle EastDecades of conflict have created economic, demographic, and political conditions that are compromising achieving peace in the Middle East. ++ Disincentives for the creation of two states are proving stronger than the rationale for peace. ++ Palestinians’ animosity toward Israel, their scarring experience of war and violence, the influence of Islamic groups, and the ever blurrier ethnic and ... MoreMay 6, 2008 | The Dangers of a League of Unwilling DemocraciesMc Cain aspires to redefining the US’s global role by creating a US-led “League of Democracies.” ++ Besides antagonizing Russia and China and ignoring the significance of their cooperation on environmental and nuclear issues, this idea appears as a means to circumvent the UN and raises widespread opposition among qualifying democracies. ++ Eventually, the project would be stalled by ... MoreApril 30, 2008 | Sarkozy l' Américain?The election of Nicolas Sarkozy was a source of hope for the future of Franco-American and transatlantic relations. Sarkozy made no secret of his intention to kick start a new era of French foreign policy and effect a radical break away from a forty year old Gaullist anti-American tradition, loyally held up by his predecessor Jacques Chirac. Now nearly a year has gone by since the proclaimed ... MoreApril 28, 2008 | American Power: Hegemonic Due to Lack of OptionsIn the prospect of US presidential elections all three candidates distance themselves from President Bush and promise more multilateralism in foreign policy and therefore burden sharing. ++ They forget that the US is the only hegemonic power and that the international community rests under the security umbrella of the US. ++ The next administration’s foreign policy will not be much more ... MoreApril 22, 2008 | Improving America's Image in the Arab WorldRecent Arab public opinion polls confirm a “gap between the aims of American policies and Arab public perceptions of the US.” ++ They also highlight that the US could improve its image by brokering peace between Palestine and Israel and by withdrawing from Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula. ++ While US policies are clearly opposed, middle ground could be found regarding democratic values and ... MoreApril 16, 2008 | Non-polarity Will Succeed American UnipolarityThe growing strength of other states, the challenges to US foreign, energy, and economic policy, and globalization, which has diluted state control, have all contributed to ending the era of American dominance. ++ The new distribution of power will lead to multiplied threats, unstable relationships and a leadership vacuum. ++ Maintaining order in a non-polar world will require joint and astute ... MoreApril 15, 2008 | No Decline of the West but a Rise of the RestThe threats to US supremacy tend to be overstated. ++ China and Russia won’t achieve global domination while the post war arrangement goes on. ++ Yet to contain the progress of autocracy, protect and promote liberalism, and maintain its global power, the US should lead a democratic front within the framework of international institutions and cease discrediting its model with inappropriate ... MoreApril 14, 2008 | Foes of the US no Longer Fear or Respect itUS’s coercive tools - military might and economic leverage - have severely diminished due to failure in Iraq, expensive oil, and the rise of new industrial giants. ++ The next president needs to acknowledge the ineffectiveness of unilateral economic sanctions. ++ As major economic players like China readily deal with rogue states, a successful policy of containment requires widespread ... MoreApril 1, 2008 | Hyper-partisanship Encumbers US HyperpowerPartisan polarization over foreign policy is stronger than ever before. ++ A Democratic, rather European, vision of diplomacy is opposed to a Republican celebration of American exceptionalism and forceful great-power politics. ++ Partisanship scatters support, causes confusion, and hinders continuity and efficiency. ++ Future foreign policy “will suffer from a lack of certainty rather than an ... MoreOctober 29, 2007 | Route to Success in AnnapolisHenry A. Kissinger dampens hopes on the outcome of the meeting on the Palestinian peace process in Annapolis. Even if parties manage to agree on the Taba Plan of 2000—essentially Israeli withdrawal to the 1967 borders—the implementation remains uncertain. Israeli and Palestinian interlocutors have shaky domestic positions. Additionally, it needs to be clarified what the willingness by several ... More |
CommunityJobs / InternshipsCall for PapersAtlantic EventsPartnersUser of the dayPoll
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
