World Politics 2006-2007

UNIT 1. New World Order 1. A Global Power Shift in the Making, James F. Hoge Jr., Foreign Affairs, July/August 2004 Asia is rising fast, with its growing economic power translating into political and military strength. The West must adapt-or be left behind. "With the global flow of energy assuming ever-growing economic and strategic prominence, oil and gas pipelines in the world today have become the major focus of international geopolitical competition." <new>2. Preparing for the Next Pandemic, Michael T. Osterholm, Foreign Affairs, July/August 2005 Time is running out to prepare for the next pandemic. The only question is when, not "if," the world will experience another global pandemic. An international project to develop the ability to produce a vaccine for the entire global population within several months of the start of a pandemic must be a top priority for the group of seven industrialized nations plus Russia (G-8). <new>3. The Statesman, James Traub, The New York Times, September 18, 2005 Bono, the rock star, has been remarkably successful in his global campaign against disease and destitution. His success is about a lot more than his soaring voice. Bono uses the power of rock celebrity and his unique brand of relentless but tactful diplomacy to get agreement by world leaders for commitments they might otherwise not have made. UNIT 2. World Economy <new>4. High Oil Prices Met With Anger Worldwide: Both Rich and Poor Countries Make Moves to Appease Citizens, Paul Blustein and Craig Timberg, The Washington Post, October 3, 2005 Rising fuel prices are stoking popular anger around the world, throwing politicians on the defensive and forcing governments to resort to price freezes, tax cuts, and other measures to soothe voter resentment. Many governments keep fuel costs below market levels through subsidies while others control demand by maintaining stiff gasoline taxes. Cutting government oil subsidies won't be easy as such moves trigger popular protest that threaten to topple governments. 5. A (Social) Capital Idea, Andrew Holm, Harvard International Review, Winter 2004 The concept of social capital-that includes norms, networks, and social trust that make society function more smoothly-is increasingly being explored in terms of its potential to reduce poverty and vulnerability among the poor and powerless in developing countries. This approach has been adopted by the World Bank and several other development organizations as an important aspect of a multi-faceted approach for promoting economic development. UNIT 3. Weapons of Mass Destruction 6. Pakistan: It's Deja Vu All Over Again, Leonard Weiss, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May/June 2004 Leonard Weiss reviews how Pakistan lied, stole, and conned its way to becoming a nuclear weapons power. Now, the father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb program, A.Q. Khan, is doing the same as a nuclear broker. Weiss questions what the United States can do about the A.Q. Khan network now that Pakistan is a major United States ally. <new>7. Iran, Christopher de Bellaigue, Foreign Policy, May/June 2005 If Iran gets a nuclear bomb it is unlikely to use it. There is not a lot of popular support in Iran for building a nuclear bomb and the country needs alternative sources of electricity in the future. The threat to use force is unlikely to dissuade Iran from advancing its nuclear plans and will not advance the cause of democracy. "When Iran reforms, it will happen because its youth-not the United States-demands it. <new>8. The Seven Myths of Nuclear Terrorism, Matthew Bunn and Anthony Wier, Current History, April 2005 Bunn and Wier outline seven myths that explain why analysts who conclude that terrorists will not attempt nuclear terrorism are wrong. They emphasize that "a small but dedicated and resourceful terrorist group could very plausibly design and build at least a crude nuclear bomb. And the danger that they could get the nuclear material needed to do so is very real." 9. How to Counter WMD, Ashton B. Carter, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2004 The United States' counter proliferation policy needs an overhaul. Ashton Carter outlines why the new goals should be to get nuclear material out of circulation, reinforce nonproliferation agreements, and use new technologies and invasive monitoring to get better and more actionable intelligence. UNIT 4. North America Part A. The United States <new>10. Requiem for the Bush Doctrine, Andrew J. Bacevich, Current History, December 2005 The Bush Doctrine on preventive use of force has now been tested and found wanting. "The Iraq War has revealed that the armed forces posses nothing like the depth required to implement a policy of preventive war on a sustained basis..." The White House may come to see the wisdom of allowing the Bush doctrine to die a quiet and unlamented death. <new>11. How We Would Fight China, Robert D. Kaplan, The Atlantic Monthly, June 2005 "The Middle East is just a blip. The American military contest with China in the Pacific will define the twenty-first century. And China will be a more formidable adversary than Russia ever was." <new>12. The Decline of American Soft Power, Joshua Kurlantzick, Current History, December 2005 "Anti-Bush administration sentiment, which developed between 2003 and 2004, has mutated and strengthened into a broader anti-Americanism." Kurlantzick discusses the reasons for this transformation in world public opinion and the implications of this trend for America's soft power. As America's ability to persuade and influence other countries has waned, the United States is increasingly reliant on the threat and use of force. <new>13. You're Not in the Army Now, Shawn Macomber, The American Spectator, November 2004 The United States can no longer go to war without private contractors. Private contractors are doing so many things that the military often has no idea what these corporate soldiers are up to. The results have been scandals in Bosnia and Iraq, such as Abu Ghraib. Corporations argue that market forces discourage excesses by their employees but Shawn Macomber asks a more basic question: Should the Pentagon be in the business of outsourcing war? Part B. Canada <new>14. Living with Number One, The Economist, December 3, 2005 Since September 11th 2001, security concerns trump cross-border trade. A border closure with Canada can no longer be discounted. Although economic and security issues continue to be a source of conflict between the two countries, geography dictates that they must cooperate. 15. North America's Second Decade, Robert A. Pastor, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2004 NAFTA has brought the United States, Mexico, and Canada an unprecedented degree of social and economic integration. According to Pastor, "North America" is now more than just a geographical expression. Fifty-eight percent of Canadians, 69 percent of Americans, and surprisingly, 34 percent of Mexicans consider themselves to be "North American." UNIT 5. Latin America 16. NAFTA at 10: A Plus or a Minus?, Jorge G. Castaneda, Current History, February 2004 "Neither boon nor catastrophe," the 1994 trade pact has yet to boost living standards in Mexico. The European Union offers a model for moving forward. <new>17. Latin America's Terrible Two, Otto J. Reich, National Review, April 11, 2005 Recent political trends include the resurgence of the Left as several Andean and Central American countries elect officials comprising of leftist-populist alliances. According to Reich this trend threatens U.S. interests in the region. No where is this more apparent than in Cuba and Venezuela where Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez, constitute an "axis of evil." UNIT 6. Europe Part A. West Europe 18. America as European Hegemon, Christopher Layne, The National Interest, Summer 2003 Layne describes U.S. aims in Europe during the post-war period to illustrate that the United States has always sought to assert its hegemony while France and Germany seek to create a European counter balance to U.S. hegemony. Within a widened Europe, France and Germany-with Russia and sometimes China-are developing new habits of diplomatic cooperation to oppose Washington, while the United Kingdom and newer members of a widened Europe work closely with the United States. <new>19. A T oo Perfect Union? Why Europe Said "No", Andrew Moravcsik, Current History, November 2005 The "No" vote on a European Union constitution referendum in France and the Netherlands does not indicate that the EU is in decline or disarray. Instead, Moravcsik describes how the recent votes illustrates that the European Union is essentially stable and legitimate. While the votes signal the death knell of an impossible dream, a halfway arrangement can still be constructed that will be acceptable to the public in Europe, the Balkans, and Turkey. 20. For U.S. to Note, Europe Flexes Muscle in Afghanistan, Craig S. Smith, The New York Times, September 22, 2004 The European military presence in Afghanistan is proof that the long-vaunted idea of a European Defense-as distinct from NATO-is slowly taking shape. The 25-member European Union has recently created a European Defense Agency to coordinated training. Eurocorps will take over command of NATO's peacekeeping forces beginning in August of 2004 in Afghanistan and later in 2004 the European Union will take over peacekeeping in Bosnia-Herzegovina from NATO altogether. <new>21. Europe's Response to Radical Islam, Olivier Roy, Current History, November 2005 Islamic terrorists in Western Europe-including foreign residents, second-generation immigrants, and converts-all follow the same general trajectory of radicalization. "The real danger lies in Islamic radicalism enlarging its social base or connecting with other potentially radical movements or governments." Part B. Central Europe <new>22. In Eastern Europe, Corruption in the Crosshairs, Rasma Karklins, Current History, November 2005 Corruption caused the electoral defeat of Poland's governing Left Alliance in 2005, the ouster of Lithuanian President Rolandas Paksas in 2004, and the resignation of Georgia's President Eduard Shevardnadze in 2003. Karklins outlines why these recent events are good news since the corrupt elite now have to face consequences. UNIT 7. Former Soviet Union <new>23. Russia and the West: A Dangerous Drift, Michael McFaul, Current History, October 2005 Putin is a European but he does not define integration into the West as a central objective. Since taking office in 2000, Putin has focused on rebuilding the Russian state and consolidating control of the economic and political system in his hands. While Putin's foreign policies seemed designed to disengage, most Russians support greater integration into Western institutions. 24. The Terrorist Notebooks, Martha Brill Olcott and Bakhtiyar Babajanov, Foreign Policy, March/April 2003 Excerpts from a young man recruited for jihad as one of a group of Central Asians, mostly Uzbek by nationality, describes their training at local terrorist schools in the mid-1990s. While many of these recruits were killed during U.S. bombings in Afghanistan, there remain many young people with limited education and diminishing economic prospects who live in communities throughout Central Asia that are likely to be future recruits for radical forms of Islam. <new>25. Autocrats, Islamists, and the Rise of Radicalism in Central Asia, Eric McGlinchey, Current History, October 2005 Recent events and trends in Uzbekistan, Tajikistand, Kyrgyzstand, and Kazakhstan illustrate that the global spread of Islamist ideas, has local and readily identifiable causes. "Radical Islam in Central Asia manifests a society's response to the accumulated injustices of severely authoritarian rule...Where governments tolerate some degree of political opposition either in parliaments or in the press-society's enthusiasm for Islamist goals is limited." UNIT 8. The Pacific Basin 26. China Views Globalization: Toward a New Great-Power Politics?, Yong Deng and Thomas G. Moore, The Washington Quarterly, Summer 2004 Globalization has become a lens through which Beijing's grand strategy is filtered. For Chinese strategic thinkers, globalization-as manifested in transnational forces, international institutions, and a great need for multilateralism-is a means to "democratize" the U.S. hegemonic order and to minimize unilateralist power politics. <new>27. New East Asia, Old Enmities, The Economist, October 8, 2005 North Korean provocations and sustained, rapid defense expenditures by China and bulling about history are pushing Japanese politics further to the right. Japanese nationalism is on the rise and several Japanese foreign policy positions are hardening. Japan is also moving to establish Asian regional institutions as a way to counter rising Chinese influence. 28. Can India Overtake China?, Yasheng Huang and Tarun Khanna, Foreign Policy, July/August 2003 While China's export-led manufacturing boom is largely a creation of foreign direct investment (FDI), India has spawned a number of domestic entrepreneurs that now compete internationally with the best that Europe and the United States has to offer. India's stronger infrastructure and more efficient capital markets and legal system are additional reasons why India's homegrown entrepreneurs may have a long-term advantage over China's inefficient banks and capital markets. <new>29. First Steps: The Afghan Elections, Thomas J. Barfield, Current History, March 2005 "For [Hamid] Karzai, winning a nationwide plebiscite made him the first elected leader in Afghan history and legitimized his government...But his electoral victory will prove hollow unless he succeeds in using this window of opportunity to permanently change the dynamics of Afghan politics." <new>30. Jihad Archipelago, Greg Sheridan, The National Interest, Winter 2004/2005 Today there is a life and death struggle under way in Indonesia and its Southeast Asian neighbors-including Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, and Brunei-over who owns Islam. The interests of the West in this battle lie in the triumph of the local, the ethnocentrically particular, and the traditional against the interests promoted by global communications technology and the spread of international ideas by al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in Southeast Asia. UNIT 9. Middle East and Africa Part A. The Middle East <new>31. Iraq: From Insurgency to Civil War?, Ahmed S. Hashim, Current History, January 2005 "After the successful but destructive assault on Falluja, the Sunni-Arabs are not merely alienated; they are outraged, and their support for the insurgency has increased. More ominously, a large number of Sunni see no future for their community in the new Iraq." <new>32. Can Democracy Stop Terrorism?, F. Gregory Gause III, Foreign Affairs, September/October 2005 The Bush administration contends that the push for democracy in the Muslim world will improve U.S. security. But this premise is faulty: there is no evidence that democracy reduces terrorism. Indeed, a democratic Middle East would probably result in Islamist governments unwilling to cooperate with Washington. <new>33. Blowback Revisited, Peter Bergen and Alec Reynolds, Foreign Affairs, November/December 2005 Much like the Afghan mujahideen conflict in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the current war in Iraq will generate a ferocious blowback of its own. Foreign volunteers fighting U.S. troops in Iraq today will find new targets around the world but the Bush administration has yet to devote much time to preparing for the longer-term consequences of the war in Iraq. <new>34. Will Israel Live to 100?, Benjamin Schwarz, The Atlantic Monthly, May 2005 The realities of land and demographic trends ensures that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will remain a problem without a solution. Part B. Africa 35. The Terrorist Threat in Africa, Princeton N. Lyman and J. Stephen Morrison, Foreign Affairs, January/February 2004 The Bush administration has focused on destroying al Qaeda in East Africa and defines emerging conflicts in Africa in primarily humanitarian rather than strategic terms. The growth of Islam, increased support for radical Islamic fundamentalism, and the continued operation of al Qaeda networks throughout the continent may prove costly in the future for both Africans and Americans. <new>36. Nigeria: Chronicle of a Dying State, Ike Okonta, Current History, May 2005 Voter fraud in the oil-rich Niger Delta supported by logistic aid from foreign oil companies& #8212;that brought to power local elites who participate in criminal siphoning of crude oil from pipelines in the Niger Delta-helps explain why oil output in the region is shrinking. As social and economic conditions worsen in Nigeria, the modern state of Nigeria looks increasingly hallow and additional state-sponsored violence is necessary to shore up a dying political order. UNIT 10. International Organizations and Global Issues 37. Courage to fulfil our responsibilities, The Economist, December 4, 2004 The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, summarizes the key themes in the 101 recommendations for changes in the United Nations listed in, "A More Secure World: Our Shared Responsibility." The recommendations are the result of a High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Changes review that Annan requested from 16 eminent people to consider. <new>38. The "Greenless" Response to Global Warming, Byron W. Daynes and Glen Sussman, Current History, December 2005 For most countries an imperfect treaty, the Kyoto Protocol is a first step towards a solution to global warming. For the United States, the primary producer of greenhouse gasses, as well as a few other nation-states the treaty is too "fatally flawed" to support. Instead, the United States' "greenless diplomacy" towards global warming emphasizes voluntary emission cutbacks, free market incentives, and technical innovation as the preferred ways to manage the problem. <new>39. Reinterpreting International Law?, Dana Priest, The Washington Post National Weekly Edition, November 1-7, 2004 The United States government secretly authorized the CIA to transfer detainees out of Iraq for interrogation-a practice that international legal specialists say contravenes the Geneva Convention. Legal experts explain that the United States is "interpreting an exception into an all-encompassing right, in one of the most fundamental treaties in history."