NATO

NATO and the Madonna Curve: why a new Strategic Concept is vital. Peter van Ham. NATO Review, Spring 2008. n.p. NATO’s remodelling is urgent, according to Peter van Ham. Here, he argues that NATO's makeover should start with an attempt to forge a new Strategic Concept. At first sight, NATO and Madonna may not seem to have much in common. But here, Peter van Ham makes a compelling case that one has shown a knack of successful self-reinvention - and the other one needs to. READ MORE

Europe's Eastern Promise; Rethinking NATO and EU Enlargement. Ronald D. Asmus. Foreign Affairs, January/February 2008. pp. 95-101. The decision to open NATO and the EU to Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s was a victory of statesmanship and an example of successful crisis prevention. The United States and Europe need to change their strategic thinking, and if they again succeed in linking new democracies to NATO and the EU, ten years from now they will look back at a redrawn map of Europe and Eurasia and be thankful that they acted. Otherwise, future generations may pay a high price for their passivity. READ MORE

The New Atlanticism: Broadening Horizons. Drath, Viola Herms. American Foreign Policy Interests, March 2008. pp. This article focuses on recent developments in Europe and identifies two issues - the war in Iraq and Turkey's pending membership in the European Union - as the most divisive in the Atlantic relationship. Not only does the article illuminate major differences between the United States and the leading European powers, but it identifies several differences among the 27 sovereign member states of the European Union. READ MORE

Facing the Giant: Southern perspectives on the European Union. Fioramonti, Lorenzo - Poletti, Arlo. Third World Quarterly,. February 2008. pp. The European Union portrays itself as a different global actor. This self-representation has triggered a debate around the EU as a global 'normative power', while providing momentum for innovative research into how other societies view and assess the global performance of the EU. For the first time this article presents the findings of a study conducted respectively in Brazil, India and South Africa. As leading nations of the 'global South', these three countries offer important insights into how the EU is perceived not only in emerging markets, but also in the so-called developing world at large. READ MORE

Monetary Policy

The Role of Money in Monetary Policy: Why Do the Fed and ECB See It So Differently? George A Kahn, Scott Benolkin. Economic Review, Third Quarter 2007. pp. 5-38. Monetary policymakers and central banks universally recognize that, in the long run, inflation is strictly determined by monetary policy. However, they disagree sharply about the role of monetary aggregates in the conduct of monetary policy. These differences in views are reflected in the way the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank (ECB) conduct monetary policy and communicate with the public. READ MORE

Russia

Superpresidentialism and the Military: The Russian Variant. Zoltan Barany. Presidential Studies Quarterly, March 2008. pp. 14-38. This article explains the evolution of the presidential-military nexus in post-Soviet Russia. Why has the role of presidents become the overriding factor in Russian civil-military relations? What explains the differences between the relationships Russia's two post-Soviet presidents, Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, developed with the armed forces? READ MORE

Losing Russia; The Costs of Renewed Confrontation. Dimitri K. Simes. Foreign Affairs, November/December 2007. pg. 36-46. U.S.-Russian relations are deteriorating rapidly. Misguided and arrogant U.S. policies since the end of the Cold War have fueled resentment in Russia, and Vladimir Putin's increasing defiance is inflaming the West. But Washington and Moscow need not be adversaries. Both sides must act soon to avert renewed confrontation. READ MORE

From Stalin to Putin, An Insider's View: Talking with Georgi Arbatov. Jonathan Power. World Policy Journal, Fall 2007. pp. 83-88. Georgi Arbatov, the eminent grise of the Soviet foreign policy apparatus, was waiting for me at the bus stop an hour out of Moscow. Like Arbatov, I am convinced the inbuilt hostility of much of the Western foreign policy elite towards the Soviet Union and later russia has its foundations in a false reading of Moscow's post-World War II territorial ambitions. In his memoirs, the American secretary of war, Henry Stimson, says honestly that it was done to teach the Russians to play according to the new rules of the game. READ MORE

Elections 2008

A PARTY TRANSFORMED.  Ronald Brownstein. National Journal, March 1, 2008, pp. 16-21.  The race between Barack Obama and Hilary Rodham Clinton isn't only turning out large numbers of voters , it's also reshaping the makeup of the Democratic Party.  The share of the vote cast by young people, the affluent and liberals has increased, sometimes substantially.  READ MORE

McCAIN SHOULD NAME SOLID RUNNING MATE NOW.  Anonymous. Human Events, March 10, 2008, pp. 1-2.  Now, McCain must work to unite a divided Republican Party, just as Senators Hillary Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama are poised to go the distance in what is sure to be a drawn-out and increasingly vicious battle for the Democratic nomination, a battle that will increase the possibility of a Republican victory. human events believes that the best way for McCain to energize the apathetic GOP grass-roots conservatives that he desperately needs for November is to flame a solidly conservative running mate and to do so soon. READ MORE

WOMEN IN POLITICS.  DOES GENDER BIAS HURT FEMALE CANDIDATES?  Kenneth Jost.  CQ Researcher, March 21, 2008, pp. 266-287. The number of women holding political office in the United States has grown substantially over the past two decades. But even with a near-record number of 86 women in Congress today, men still outnumber women by more than 5-to-1. Historically, women faced significant disadvantages in running for office and winning voter approval. Experts say those barriers are lower today, but perhaps not completely...  READ MORE

Values

IMMIGRATION AS A WIN-WIN AFFAIR.  Warren Mass.  The New American, March 3, 2008, pp. 34-39.  Our history demonstrates that immigration, properly regulated and controlled, can - and did - have a beneficial effect on our nation's economy and culture. Despite the inevitable challenges created by any mass migration, by and large America has benefited in the past from immigrants who came here for the right reasons. Most were willing to learn the language and become Americans; they worked hard and pulled themselves up by the bootstraps. In the process, they not only improved their own lives and those of their families, but they also made a positive contribution to their adopted country. READ MORE

LEAVIT'S REMEDY.  Marilyn Werber Serafini.  National Journal, March 15, 2008, pp. 30-34. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt is determined to influence the debate on providing health care coverage to the nation's 47 million uninsured.  He says that the deferal government's role should be to help make the insurance market fairer and more efficient. READ MORE

GENDER PAY GAP.  ARE WOMEN PAID FAIRLY IN THE WORKPLACE.  Thomas J. Billitteri.  March 14, 2008, pp.  242-263.  More than four decades after Congress passed landmark anti-discrimination legislation — including the Equal Pay Act of 1963 — a debate continues to rage over whether women are paid fairly in the workplace. Contending that gender bias contributes to a significant "pay gap," reformists support proposed federal legislation aimed at bringing women's wages more closely in line with those of men. Others say new laws are not needed because the wage gap largely can be explained by such factors as women's choices of occupation and the amount of time they spend in the labor force. Meanwhile, a class-action suit charging Wal-Mart Stores with gender bias in pay and promotions — the biggest sex-discrimination lawsuit in U.S. history — may be heading for the Supreme Court. Some women's advocates argue that a controversial high-court ruling last year makes it more difficult to sue over wage discrimination. READ MORE