Counterterrorism

Time to get strategic on terrorism? Seda Gurkan NATO Review, April 2008, online article NATO is already making a major contribution to tackling terrorism. So why does it need a strategy for combating terrorism? Could it really make such a major positive difference? Seda Gurkan feels that it just might. NATO has the tools and a goal but lacks a vision and a sense of purpose - in other words, a strategy for fighting terrorism. READ MORE

Can Sanctions Stop Proliferation? Shen Dingli. The Washington Quarterly, Summer 2008, pp. 89-100. In contemporary international relations, sanctions are a means of settling disputes and attaining specific policy objectives, often employed to reflect the dissatisfaction of certain members of the international community over another member's domestic or international behavior. Some argue that sanctions never work, whereas others think that they serve to moderate undesirable behavior, although often not entirely effectively. In recent years, sanctions have been imposed against the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Iran to compel these regimes to give up their nuclear weapons or suspected nuclear programs. How effective have these sanctions been, and what do these cases say about China's evolving attitudes toward sanctions as a nonproliferation tool? READ MORE

Is counterterrorism good value for money? Bjorn Lomborg. NATO Review, April 2008, online article Global terrorism is cheap, requires little manpower, captures the world’s attention and gives the weak the ability to terrify the strong. Is there any way to beat it? Here Bjorn Lomborg sets out some of the cost problems - and offers some possible solutions. To be effective, counterterrorism measures must either make all modes of attack more difficult or reduce terrorists’ resources. READ MORE

Image and Identity

ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE. Andrew Kohut and Richard Wike, The National Interest, May/June, var. pages. "'Simply put, America’s image in much of the Muslim world remains abysmal.' With the deepening and unrelenting challenges we face in the Middle East, how much has America’s image in the Muslim world declined? And what can we do to reverse the trends? What an analysis of the polling numbers says about America’s reputation." READ MORE

HOMELAND INTERESTS, HOSTLAND POLITICS: POLITICIZED ETHNIC IDENTITY AMONG MIDDLE EASTERN HERITAGE GROUPS IN THE UNITED STATES. Kenneth D. Wald, International Migration Review, Summer 2008, pp. 273–301."Why do ethnic diasporas in the United States differ in their readiness for political mobilization on behalf of homeland interests? This study develops a tiered model of politicized ethnic identity emphasizing both individual-level traits and group/collective properties. Using Zogby 'Culture Polls,' the theory is tested on three Middle Eastern heritage groups in the United States (Jews, Arab Christians, Arab Muslims)."  READ MORE

Multicultural Society/Immigration

ECONOMIC (IN)SECURITY: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND LATINO MIDDLE CLASSES.  Wheary, Jennifer, Shapiro, Thomas M.; Draut, Tamara; Meschede, Tatjana.  Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action and The Institute on Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, 2008, 24p.  This recent report released in February 2008 looks at the economic problems faced by African-Americans and Latinos. The report was created by the Demos organization and researchers at Brandeis University, and it finds that one in four African-American and fewer than one in five Latino middle-class families in America are financially secure. READ MORE

HOW TO GROW A GANG.  Matthew Quirk.  Atlantic Monthly, May 2008, pp. 24-25.  By deporting record numbers of Latino criminals, the U.S. may make its gang problem worse, says Quirk, staff editor at The Atlantic Monthly. Using the Salvadoran gang MS-13 as an example, Quirk notes that Salvadoran police report that 90 percent of deported gang members return to the United States, and many use their free trip south to bring others back with them upon their return. READ MORE

RACE, IMMIGRATION AND AMERICA'S CHANGING ELECTORATE.  Frey, William
The Brookings Institution, February 28, 2008, 31p.  "One of the most profound changes in America’s demography this century will be its shifting race and ethnic makeup. The rise of immigration from Latin America and Asia, the higher fertility of some minorities and the slow growth of America’s aging white population will have profound impacts on the nation’s demographic profile, with important implications for the electorate. The significance of these changes on identity politics, new racial coalitions and reactions to immigration have already been seen in the 2008 presidential sweepstakes. Yet, these shifts are only the tip of the iceberg of what can be expected in future election cycles as Hispanic, Asian, and Black Americans make up ever larger shares of the electorate. This report discusses the shifts playing out in 2008, but with an eye toward what they will mean in the future." William Frey is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program and a Research Professor at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center.  READ MORE

Elections 2008

THE CASE FOR KEEPING THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE. Walter Berns, American Enterprise Institute (AEI), April 7, 2008, 2p.  "Debate over whether to keep the Electoral College or move to a system of direct popular election of the president is a hardy perennial of the presidential election season. In this article, the eminent constitutional scholar Walter Berns reminds us of the arguments in favor of the Electoral College and dissects the proposals of those who would nullify it without having to abolish it." Walter Berns is a resident scholar at AEI. READ MORE

CHANGING THE US ELECTORATE.  ARE DEMOGRAPHIC TRENDS RESHAPING US POLITICS? Alan Greenblatt.  CQ Researcher, May 30, 2008, pp. 459-480. Demographics have played nearly as large a role in this year's presidential race as health care, war and the economy. The Democratic field has come down to an African-American man dominating voting among blacks, the young and highly educated voters and a white woman winning older voters, Hispanics and the white working class. Regardless of whether Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton is the nominee, the Democratic candidate's first order of business will be reuniting party supporters against Republican John McCain. Many trends favor Democrats, including increased support among Latinos and voters under 30. READ MORE

HOW COULD JOHN MCCAIN WIN IN NOVEMBER? HISTORY VERSUS CIRCUMSTANCE IN THE GENERAL ELECTION.  Sabato, Larry J.  Crystall Ball'08 - Election Analysis, April 17, 2008.  "Based on 220 years of precedent, a McCain win would be a striking repudiation of American history, since no presidential candidate of a two-term incumbent party has ever been elected under this set of severely adverse conditions." Larry J. Sabato is the Director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics. READ MORE  

PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: LONG-TERM CARE AND THE 2008 ELECTION.  David G. Stevenson.  New England Journal of Medicine, May 8, 2008, pp. 1985-1987.  The author argues that the presidential candidates should be better addressing the nation’s growing long-term care needs. About 10 million people in the U.S need constant assistance completing basic daily activities such as eating, bathing and dressing – and that number will only increase as baby boomers age. READ MORE

Foreign Policy and Public Opinion

COLD WAR, PUBLIC OPINION, AND FOREIGN POLICY SPENDING DECISIONS: DYNAMIC REPRESENTATION BY CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT. Daniel G Cox and Diane L Duffin, Congress & the Presidency, Spring 2008, pp. 29-52. "Conventional wisdom before the Vietnam War held that public opinion exerted no influence on U.S. foreign policy decisions. Scholars working in Vietnam's aftermath found episodic influence of public opinion on foreign policy, but missing in our understanding were longitudinal examinations of public opinion's influence on foreign policy. A number of post-Vietnam scholars subsequently revealed a long-term relationship between public opinion and defense spending. This study extends that work by analyzing responsiveness to public opinion in different foreign policy arenas by different government institutions, and by accounting for a critical variable not relevant in most previous studies: the end of the cold war." READ MORE

THE NEW POWERHOUSES: THINK TANKS AND FOREIGN POLICY. Howard J. Wiarda, American Foreign Policy Interests, March 2008 , pp. 96-117. "In the course of testing the hypothesis that the think tanks that play an important role in American foreign policymaking may well become further instruments of the divisiveness, fragmentation, and disarray that now characterize American foreign policymaking, this analysis not only explains what think tanks are and do but also provides a fascinating history of how American foreign policymaking has evolved since the post-World War II era, highlighting steps that have led to its outsourcing and privatization." READ MORE

THE REALIST TRADITION IN AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION. Daniel W. Drezner et al. Perspectives on Politics, March 2008, pp 51-70. "For more than half a century, realist scholars of international relations have maintained that their world view is inimical to the American public. For a variety of reasons-inchoate attitudes, national history, American exceptionalism-realists assert that the U.S. government pursues realist policies in spite and not because of public opinion. Indeed, most IR scholars share this 'anti-realist assumption.'"  READ MORE

US Foreign Policy and Asia

THE STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE OF CENTRAL ASIA: AN AMERICAN VIEW. Stephen Blank, Parameters, Spring 2008, pp. 73-87. "Undoubtedly Central Asia's strategic importance in international affairs is growing. The rivalries among Russia, China, United States, Iran, India, and Pakistan not to mention the ever-changing pattern of relations among local states (five former Soviet republics and Afghanistan) make the region's importance obviously clear. Central Asia's strategic importance for Washington, Moscow, and Beijing varies with each nation's perception of its strategic interests." READ MORE

AMERICA'S PLACE IN THE ASIAN CENTURY. Kishore Mahbubani, Current History, May 2008, pp. 195-200. "The moment has come for fresh US policy on East Asia. This should be priority number one for the new president. No country did more than the United States to spark the rise of East Asia. But paradoxically, America is among the countries least prepared to handle the rise of East Asia. Evidence of this will likely stream in as soon as a new us president assumes office in January 2009." READ MORE

Foreign Policy and the Candidates

THE ACCIDENTAL FOREIGN POLICY. Matthew Yglesias, Atlantic Monthly, June 2008, var. pages. "How an early gaffe and an excruciatingly long primary season helped Barack Obama find a distinctive voice on foreign affairs. For many Democratic insiders, the seemingly endless primary season has become a sore subject; they believe the length of the contest will hurt the party’s chances in November. We’ll have to wait and see if that happens, but it’s worth noting that as the campaign has gone on, it has produced more than just acrimony. It’s produced a meaningful new approach to foreign policy as well—the first substantial alternative to George W. Bush’s policies that has entered the political mainstream since 9/11, and one whose airing should be welcomed not just by Democrats but by all voters." READ MORE

FUNCTION FOLLOWS FORM. Dana H Allin, Survival, Apr/May 2008, pp. 247–254. "Allin discusses the various views of Obama, Clinton, and McCain about the different political issues. These issues include foreign policy, Iraq war, and national security. Allin asserts that Obama, like Clinton, has surrounded himself with 'national security Democrats'--nationalist liberals--and there is indeed every indication that he is one himself. But when the moment comes to choose between war and peace, between intervention and restraint, there could be wisdom in choosing restraint. Obama indicates that he might do so. So, for that matter, if either becomes president, could Clinton or McCain." READ MORE

THE MCCAIN DOCTRINES. Matt Bai, New York Times Magazine, May 16 2008, var. pages. "Senator John McCain’s support for the war in Iraq, informed by his experience, is lonely but unwavering. Whatever their disagreements on policy, United States senators, even in today’s hyperpolitical climate, are reluctant to impugn one another’s motives or integrity." READ MORE