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Public Affairs Program
Pax Ethnica: Where and How Diversity Succeeds
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Karl E. Meyer,
Shareen Blair Brysac,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/18/12
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The headlines are full of stories of deep-simmering hatreds and ethnic strife--how about some good news for a change? Historians Meyer and Brysac explore places where diversity is actually working, from Kerala to Queens. What can we learn from these "oases of civility"?
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Martin Wolf,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/14/12
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It's likely that the U.S. will cease to be the world's largest economic power by not later than the 2020s, predicts Martin Wolf. However--depending on its policy choices--it will probably remain a center of world innovation in research, technology, and business.
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Steve Coll,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/09/12
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ExxonMobil is rather like France, says Steve Coll. It's mostly aligned with the U.S; it's sometimes opposed, but a lot of the time it's just busy keeping track of its own separate system and really doesn't want to be entangled in U.S. power unless it serves ExxonMobil interests.
Courageous journalist Ahmed Rashid discusses the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan as the U.S. approaches its scheduled withdrawal in 2014. He goes on to analyze the deepening crisis in Pakistan, which he considers to be even worse.
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Sadakat Kadri,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/20/12
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In the wake of the terrorist attacks and wars of the last decade, for many non-Muslims "shari'a" has become both a loaded word and an all-encompassing explanation. But the history and practice of shari'a is actually complex and varied, as Sadakat Kadri discovers.
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Kenneth Roth,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/17/12
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How have governments responded to the recent events in Libya, Syria, Egypt, and other countries such as Bahrain? Ken Roth of Human Rights Watch gives a masterly analysis of international reactions, including those of the U.S., France, India, China, Russia, Turkey, and the Arab League.
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Charles A. Kupchan
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04/09/12
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How do we manage a world where no one power is dominant, and emerging powers have their own views about how to organize political, social, and commercial life?
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Robert J. Shiller,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/03/12
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Despite the financial industry's bad reputation in the wake of the financial crisis, finance could be one of the most powerful tools we have for solving our common problems. How can we harness it for the greater good? Robert Shiller has some groundbreaking ideas.
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Michael T. Klare
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03/26/12
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As we run out of resources, the human race is at a pivotal point. We have two options: We can continue along the same path, leading to much of the planet becoming uninhabitable. Or we can create an alternative future where we use resources in a much more sustainable and frugal way.
David Rothkopf issues a wake-up call to Americans: We have to drop our knee-jerk, partisan attitudes and ask, "What will produce the kind of society that we want to have?" We also have to stop assuming that U.S. capitalism and U.S. views will be dominant in the future.
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Michael L. Ross,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/12/12
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Is oil a curse? According to Michael Ross, it's not a coincidence that major oil-producing countries have less democracy, fewer opportunities for women, more frequent civil wars, and more volatile economic growth than the rest of the world.
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Michael L. Ross,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/12/12
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According to Michael Ross, it's no coincidence that major oil-producing countries have less democracy, fewer opportunities for women, more frequent civil wars, and more volatile economic growth than the rest of the world.
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David C. Unger,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/09/12
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David Unger argues that because of national security fears, the U.S. has bypassed its Constitution, creating an "emergency state." The result is excessive military spending, a series of unconstitutional wars, and skewed global trade policies. He also tackles Europe's economic crisis.
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Enrique Krauze,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/06/12
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Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Gabriel Marcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, and many more: Krauze discusses Latin America's intellectual, literary, and political figures who were inspired by revolutionary ideas, and hopes that his book will be "a requiem for the Latin American passionate revolution."
If you use a computer or a credit card, watch out! Governments, companies, and individuals are losing billions of dollars a year fighting an ever-morphing, often invisible, and often supersmart new breed of criminal: the hacker.
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David C. Unger,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/02/12
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David Unger argues that because of national security fears, the U.S. has bypassed its Constitution, creating an "emergency state." The result is excessive military spending, a series of unconstitutional wars, and skewed global trade policies. He also tackles Europe's economic crisis.
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David C. Unger,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/02/12
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David Unger argues that because of national security fears, the U.S. has bypassed its Constitution, creating an "emergency state." The result is excessive military spending, a series of unconstitutional wars, and skewed global trade policies. He also tackles Europe's economic crisis.
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Enrique Krauze,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/29/12
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Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Gabriel Marcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, and many more: Krauze discusses Latin America's intellectual, literary, and political figures who were inspired by revolutionary ideas, and hopes that his book will be "a requiem for the Latin American passionate revolution."
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Enrique Krauze,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/29/12
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Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Gabriel Marcia Marquez, Octavio Paz, and many more: Krauze discusses Latin America's intellectual, literary, and political figures who were inspired by revolutionary ideas, and hopes that his book will be "a requiem for the Latin American passionate revolution."
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Ezra F. Vogel,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/28/12
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Deng Xiaoping was one of the most important leaders of the 20th century. Scholar Ezra Vogel discusses Deng's life, focusing on his work in opening up China to other countries. Vogel also grapples with the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which was carried out on Deng's orders.
If you use a computer or a credit card, watch out! Governments, companies, and individuals are losing billions of dollars a year fighting an ever-morphing, often invisible, and often supersmart new breed of criminal: the hacker.
If you use a computer or a credit card, watch out! Governments, companies, and individuals are losing billions of dollars a year fighting an ever-morphing, often invisible, and often supersmart new breed of criminal: the hacker.
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Ezra F. Vogel,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/23/12
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Deng Xiaoping was one of the most important leaders of the 20th century. Scholar Ezra Vogel discusses Deng's life, focusing on his work in opening up China to other countries. Vogel also grapples with the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which was carried out on Deng's orders.
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Ezra F. Vogel,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/22/12
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Deng Xiaoping was one of the most important leaders of the 20th century. Scholar Ezra Vogel discusses Deng's life, focusing on his work in opening up China to other countries. Vogel also grapples with the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, which was carried out on Deng's orders.
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David J. Scheffer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/10/12
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David Scheffer was at the forefront of the efforts leading to criminal tribunals for the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. His quest has been to "to discover the right formula, in ever-changing international circumstances, to confront monstrous evil and to do so in the courtroom."
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James G. Rickards,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/10/12
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We are already in Currency War III, says Rickards, who sees four possible outcomes--none of them good--that he calls "the four horsemen of the dollar apocalypse." Here's a tip: keep your eye on gold.
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Jeff Jarvis,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/07/12
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Well-known blogger Jeff Jarvis celebrates what he calls the "emerging age of publicness," arguing that anything we have to fear in this new networked world is overwhelmingly outweighed by all the good that will come from it.
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David J. Scheffer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/03/12
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David Scheffer was at the forefront of the efforts leading to criminal tribunals for the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. His quest has been to "to discover the right formula, in ever-changing international circumstances, to confront monstrous evil and to do so in the courtroom."
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David J. Scheffer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/03/12
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David Scheffer was at the forefront of the efforts leading to criminal tribunals for the Balkans, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, and Cambodia. His quest has been to "to discover the right formula, in ever-changing international circumstances, to confront monstrous evil and to do so in the courtroom."
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James G. Rickards,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/01/12
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We are already in Currency War III, says Rickards, who sees four possible outcomes--none of them good--that he calls "the four horsemen of the dollar apocalypse." Here's a tip: keep your eye on gold.
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James G. Rickards,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/01/12
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We are already in Currency War III, says Rickards, who sees four possible outcomes--none of them good--that he calls "the four horsemen of the dollar apocalypse." Here's a tip: keep your eye on gold.
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Jeff Jarvis,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/30/12
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Well-known blogger Jeff Jarvis celebrates what he calls the "emerging age of publicness," arguing that anything we have to fear in this new networked world is overwhelmingly outweighed by all the good that will come from it.
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Jeff Jarvis,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/30/12
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Well-known blogger Jeff Jarvis celebrates what he calls the "emerging age of publicness," arguing that anything we have to fear in this new networked world is overwhelmingly outweighed by all the good that will come from it.
Trita Parsi recounts the previously unknown story of American and Iranian negotiations during Obama's early years as president, and the real reasons for their current stalemate. Contrary to prevailing opinion, Parsi contends that diplomacy has not been fully tried.
Trita Parsi recounts the previously unknown story of American and Iranian negotiations during Obama's early years as president, and the real reasons for their current stalemate. Contrary to prevailing opinion, Parsi contends that diplomacy has not been fully tried.
Trita Parsi recounts the previously unknown story of American and Iranian negotiations during Obama's early years as president, and the real reasons for their current stalemate. Contrary to prevailing opinion, Parsi contends that diplomacy has not been fully tried.
The nine unelected justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have the power to strike down laws enacted by elected representatives. Why does the public accept the Court's decisions as legitimate, even when the decisions are highly unpopular? How does the Court help make democracy work?
The nine unelected justices of the U.S. Supreme Court have the power to strike down laws enacted by elected representatives. Why does the public accept the Court's decisions as legitimate, even when the decisions are highly unpopular? How does the Court help make democracy work?
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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita,
Alastair Smith,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/05/12
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Cynics or realists? Just follow five rules and you can be a successful dictator, say Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and
Alastair Smith--at least until old age or sickness catch up with you.
They go on to argue that these precepts apply to all systems of
governance, including U.S. democracy.
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Ronald Dworkin,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/05/12
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"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Ronald Dworkin argues for one big thing: the unity of value. He asserts that value is what makes sense of how we act as individuals, how we relate to others, and how we construct our lives.
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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita,
Alastair Smith,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/20/11
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Cynics or realists? Just follow five rules and you can be a successful dictator, say Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith--at least until old age or sickness catch up with you. They go on to argue that these precepts apply to all systems of governance, including U.S. democracy.
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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita,
Alastair Smith,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/20/11
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Cynics or realists? Just follow five rules and you can be a successful dictator, say Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and
Alastair Smith--at least until old age or sickness catch up with you.
They go on to argue that these precepts apply to all systems of
governance, including U.S. democracy.
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Ronald Dworkin,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/15/11
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"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Ronald Dworkin argues for one big thing: the unity of value. He asserts that value is what makes sense of how we act as individuals, how we relate to others, and how we construct our lives.
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Ronald Dworkin,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/15/11
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"The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing." Ronald Dworkin argues for one big thing: the unity of value. He asserts that value is what makes sense of how we act as individuals, how we relate to others, and how we construct our lives.
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Michael Nielsen,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/09/11
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In this fascinating talk, theoretical physicist Michael Nielsen describes today's groundbreaking new era, where scientists, mathematicians, and ordinary people worldwide are working together online to solve problems and expand scientific knowledge.
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Sylvia Nasar,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/09/11
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Looking back at the truly revolutionary rise in global living standards over the last 150 years, what have we learned about economic policies? There are clear lessons about what works and what doesn't, says Sylvia Nasar, author of "A Beautiful Mind."
Why pretend that economics is value free? It's a product of our civilization and riddled with moral judgements, says Sedlacek. By separating economics from ethics we have created a zombie, a monster without a soul. The two have to be put back together.
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David M. Malone,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/08/11
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Former Canadian High Commissioner to India David Malone gives a comprehensive survey of contemporary Indian foreign policy. He begins by focusing on India's geography, history, and capability, and covers relations with the U.S., China, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
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Andrew Feinstein,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/07/11
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In 2010, global military expenditure was roughly $1.6 trillion--that's $235 for every person on earth. This has profound impacts, from the perpetuation of conflict, to the corrosion of democracy, to massive socioeconomic costs.
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Michael Nielsen,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/07/11
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In this fascinating talk, theoretical physicist Michael Nielsen describes today's groundbreaking new era, where scientists, mathematicians, and ordinary people worldwide are working together online to solve problems and expand scientific knowledge.
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Philip K. Howard
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12/06/11
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Philip Howard argues that an excess of government regulations and the law has corroded the institutions of authority in our society, with many deleterious effects, and one of the victims of that is our sense of ethics and civility.
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Lt. Gen. Romeo A. Dallaire
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12/06/11
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Child soldiers are a weapons system that is effective, cheap, and complete. How do we counter that? How do we make the use of children a liability? How do we stop people from reverting to using children as the primary weapons system of a conflict?
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Sylvia Nasar,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/02/11
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Looking back at the truly revolutionary rise in global living standards over the last 150 years, what have we learned about economic policies? There are clear lessons about what works and what doesn't, says Sylvia Nasar, author of "A Beautiful Mind."
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John Lewis Gaddis,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/02/11
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George Kennan was one of the great men of the 20th century, says John Lewis Gaddis. And he was great in multiple dimensions: as the grand strategist of the Cold War; as a historian; and as author of one of the greatest of American diaries.
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Robert H. Frank,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/01/11
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Should economic policies be guided less by economist Adam Smith and more by naturalist Charles Darwin? Robert Frank thinks so, and has some provocative tax reform proposals.
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Andrew Feinstein,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/30/11
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In 2010, global military expenditure was roughly $1.6 trillion--that's $235 for every person on earth. This has profound impacts, from the perpetuation of conflict, to the corrosion of democracy, to massive socioeconomic costs.
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Sylvia Nasar,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/30/11
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Looking back at the truly revolutionary rise in global living standards over the last 150 years, what have we learned about economic policies? There are clear lessons about what works and what doesn't, says Sylvia Nasar, author of "A Beautiful Mind."
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John Lewis Gaddis,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/29/11
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George Kennan was one of the great men of the 20th century, says John Lewis Gaddis. And he was great in multiple dimensions: as the grand strategist of the Cold War; as a historian; and as author of one of the greatest of American diaries.
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Andrew Feinstein,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/29/11
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In 2010, global military expenditure was roughly $1.6 trillion--that's $235 for every person on earth. This has profound impacts, from the perpetuation of conflict, to the corrosion of democracy, to massive socioeconomic costs.
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John Lewis Gaddis,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/22/11
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George Kennan was one of the great men of the 20th century, says John Lewis Gaddis. And he was great in multiple dimensions: as the grand strategist of the Cold War; as a historian; and as author of one of the greatest of American diaries.
You recycle? You turn down plastic and paper? Good. But none of that will save the tuna or stop global warming. If you want to make the planet notice, follow the economics, says Gernot Wagner.
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Barbara Crossette,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/16/11
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Now that the population has reached seven billion, most of the focus is on the numbers. In this report, however, Crossette explores individual stories around the world to shed light on such issues as aging populations, migration, and the desire of women for family planning.
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Barbara Crossette,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/16/11
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Now that the population has reached seven billion, most of the focus is on the numbers. In this report, however, Crossette explores individual stories around the world to shed light on such issues as aging populations, migration, and the desire of women for family planning.
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Robert H. Frank,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/16/11
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Should economic policies be guided less by economist Adam Smith and more by naturalist Charles Darwin? Robert Frank thinks so, and has some provocative tax reform proposals.
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Robert H. Frank,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/16/11
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Should economic policies be guided less by economist Adam Smith and more by naturalist Charles Darwin? Robert Frank thinks so, and has some provocative tax reform proposals.
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G. John Ikenberry,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/08/11
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The U.S. may no longer be a unipolar power, but the world order it helped create is alive and well. The rise of other nations and the deepening of economic and security interdependence have resulted from the success and expansion of the postwar liberal order, not its breakdown.
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Joel F. Brenner,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/01/11
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From the personal to the corporate to the national, our data is
constantly at risk, says Joel Brenner. But it's like gravity; there's
not much we can do about it. We just have to learn to live with the
situation, stay alert, and limit potential damage.
You recycle? You turn down plastic and paper? Good. But none of that will save the tuna or stop global warming. If you want to make the planet notice, follow the economics, says Gernot Wagner.
You recycle? You turn down plastic and paper? Good. But none of that will save the tuna or stop global warming. If you want to make the planet notice, follow the economics, says Gernot Wagner.
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G. John Ikenberry
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10/25/11
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The U.S. may no longer be a unipolar power, but the world order it helped create is alive and well. The rise of other nations and the deepening of economic and security interdependence have resulted from the success and expansion of the postwar liberal order, not its breakdown.
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G. John Ikenberry,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/25/11
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The U.S. may no longer be a unipolar power, but the world order it helped create is alive and well. The rise of other nations and the deepening of economic and security interdependence have resulted from the success and expansion of the postwar liberal order, not its breakdown.
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Joel F. Brenner,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/18/11
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From the personal to the corporate to the national, our data is constantly at risk, says Joel Brenner. But it's like gravity; there's not much we can do about it. We just have to learn to live with the situation, stay alert, and limit potential damage.
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Joel F. Brenner,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/18/11
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From the personal to the corporate to the national, our data is constantly at risk, says Joel Brenner. But it's like gravity; there's not much we can do about it. We just have to learn to live with the situation, stay alert, and limit potential damage.
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John R. Schmidt,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/14/11
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U.S. Foreign Service officer John Schmidt explains how the complex, dangerous relationship between the leaders of Pakistan and various jihadist groups came about, and how it all began to unravel after 9/11.
Why pretend that economics is value free? It's a product of our civilization and riddled with moral judgements, says Sedlacek. By separating economics from ethics we have created a zombie, a monster without a soul. The two have to be put back together.
Why pretend that economics is value free? It's a product of our civilization and riddled with moral judgements, says Sedlacek. By separating economics from ethics we have created a zombie, a monster without a soul. The two have to be put back together.
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John R. Schmidt,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/04/11
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U.S. Foreign Service officer John Schmidt explains how the complex, dangerous relationship between the leaders of Pakistan and various jihadist groups came about, and how it all began to unravel after 9/11.
U.S. Foreign Service officer John Schmidt explains how the complex, dangerous relationship between the leaders of Pakistan and various jihadist groups came about, and how it all began to unravel after 9/11.
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David M. Malone,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/18/11
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Former Canadian High Commissioner to India David Malone gives a comprehensive survey of contemporary Indian foreign policy. He begins by focusing on India's geography, history, and capability, and covers relations with the U.S., China, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
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David M. Malone,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/18/11
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Former Canadian High Commissioner to India David Malone gives a comprehensive survey of contemporary Indian foreign policy. He begins by focusing on India's geography, history, and capability, and covers relations with the U.S., China, Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
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Thomas L. Friedman,
Michael Mandelbaum,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/15/11
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What can America do as it faces four major challenges--globalization, the revolution in information technology, chronic deficits, and its energy consumption?
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Thomas L. Friedman,
Michael Mandelbaum,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/14/11
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What can America do as it faces four major challenges--globalization, the revolution in information technology, chronic deficits, and its energy consumption?
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Thomas L. Friedman,
Michael Mandelbaum,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/14/11
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What can America do as it faces four major challenges--globalization, the revolution in information technology, chronic deficits, and its energy consumption?
What is the underlying source of the current financial turmoil? It is not lack of technological knowledge about how to structure and to trade securities. It stems mainly from behavioral and ethical shortcomings, from regulatory failures, and from historical amnesia, says Henry Kaufman.
Drawing on neuroscience, Jack Fuller explains why the information overload of contemporary life makes us dramatically more receptive to sensational news, while rendering the objective voice of standard journalism ineffective.
In the next 20 years, 75 to 80 percent of the world's population will have the same standard of living as today's advanced countries. What will this extraordinary set of pressures on natural resources and the environment mean for the planet?
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Steve Forbes,
Joanne J. Myers
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07/05/11
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Economic uncertainty is a source of incivility, declares Forbes. He touches on education, politics, history, free markets, and the establishment of a new gold standard so people can be certain that the money in their pockets has some real value.
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Steve Forbes,
Joanne J. Myers
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07/05/11
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Economic uncertainty is a source of incivility, declares Forbes. He touches on education, politics, history, free markets, and the establishment of a new gold standard so people can be certain that the money in their pockets has some real value.
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Steven Levy,
Joanne J. Myers
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07/05/11
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For two years, Levy was given an opportunity to observe Google's operations, development, culture, and advertising model from within the infrastructure, with full managerial cooperation. What did he find?
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Steven Levy,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/29/11
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For two years, Levy was given an opportunity to observe Google's operations, development, culture, and advertising model from within the infrastructure, with full managerial cooperation. What did he find?
For two years, Levy was given an opportunity to observe Google's operations, development, culture, and advertising model from within the infrastructure, with full managerial cooperation. What did he find?
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Henry Kaufman,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/24/11
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What is the underlying source of the current financial turmoil? It is not lack of technological knowledge about how to structure and to trade securities. It stems mainly from behavioral and ethical shortcomings, from regulatory failures, and from historical amnesia, says Henry Kaufman.
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Henry Kaufman,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/24/11
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What is the underlying source of the current financial turmoil? It is not lack of technological knowledge about how to structure and to trade securities. It stems mainly from behavioral and ethical shortcomings, from regulatory failures, and from historical amnesia, says Henry Kaufman.
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Jack Fuller,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/16/11
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Drawing on neuroscience, Jack Fuller explains why the information overload of contemporary life makes us dramatically more receptive to sensational news, while rendering the objective voice of standard journalism ineffective.
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Jack Fuller,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/16/11
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Drawing on neuroscience, Jack Fuller explains why the information overload of contemporary life makes us dramatically more receptive to sensational news, while rendering the objective voice of standard journalism ineffective.
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John Brademas,
Mickey Edwards,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/10/11
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Two distinguished former politicians, one Democrat and one Republican, agree on concrete proposals for improving U.S. politics. They include campaign finance reform; abolishing gerrymandering; and encouraging our brightest young people to enter public service.
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John Brademas,
Mickey Edwards,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/10/11
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Two distinguished former politicians, one Democrat and one Republican, agree on concrete proposals for improving U.S. politics. They include campaign finance reform; abolishing gerrymandering; and encouraging our brightest young people to enter public service.
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Sebastian Junger,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/03/11
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In this thoughtful and very personal talk, Sebastian Junger ponders what attracts young men to war, the difference between friendship and brotherhood, the question of when nations should intervene, and lastly, the issue of his own mortality.
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Sebastian Junger,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/03/11
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In this thoughtful and very personal talk, Junger ponders what attracts young men to war, the difference between friendship and brotherhood, the question of when nations should intervene, and lastly, the issue of his own mortality.
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Lt. Gen. Romeo A. Dallaire,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/03/11
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Child soldiers are a weapons system that is effective, cheap, and complete. How do we counter that? How do we make the use of children a liability? How do we stop people from reverting to using children as the primary weapons system of a conflict?
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Lt. Gen. Romeo A. Dallaire,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/03/11
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Child soldiers are a weapons system that is effective, cheap, and complete. How do we counter that? How do we make the use of children a liability? How do we stop people from reverting to using children as the primary weapons system of a conflict?
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Stephane Lacroix,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/02/11
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Stephane Lacroix gives a penetrating account of the political and religious dynamics of Saudi Arabia, one of the most opaque of Muslim countries and the birthplace of Osama bin Laden.
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Sebastian Junger
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06/01/11
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In this thoughtful and very personal talk, Sebastian Junger ponders what attracts young men to war, the difference between friendship and brotherhood, the question of when nations should intervene, and lastly, the issue of his own mortality.
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Philip K. Howard,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/31/11
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Philip Howard argues that an excess of government regulations and the law has corroded the institutions of authority in our society, with many deleterious effects, and one of the victims of that is our sense of ethics and civility.
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Philip K. Howard,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/31/11
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Philip Howard argues that an excess of government regulations and the law has corroded the institutions of authority in our society, with many deleterious effects, and one of the victims of that is our sense of ethics and civility.
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Michael Spence,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/20/11
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In the next 20 years, 75 to 80 percent of the world's population will have the same standard of living as today's advanced countries. What will this extraordinary set of pressures on natural resources and the environment mean for the planet?
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Michael Spence,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/20/11
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In the next 20 years, 75 to 80 percent of the world's population will have the same standard of living as today's advanced countries. What will this extraordinary set of pressures on natural resources and the environment mean for the planet?
Transcripts
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Francis Fukuyama,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/12/11
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How did human beings succeed in creating the ideal of strong, accountable governments that adhere to the rule of law? Francis Fukuyama provides a sweeping account of how today's basic political institutions developed.
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Peter Godwin,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/06/11
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Author and journalist Peter Godwin was born and raised in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). In this gripping talk he untangles his country's complex and tragic history, and shows us the arc of President Mugabe's brutal career.
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Joseph G. Jabbra,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/05/11
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For generations, American universities have been educating students in the Middle East. President of Lebanese American University Joseph Jabbra makes an impassioned case for the American values that students absorb in these institutions, such as tolerance, philanthropy, and service.
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Charles Osgood,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/04/11
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In every sector of American society, civility has declined, according to
recent polls--from vicious political rhetoric to attacks in the blogosphere and
lack of personal decency. How can the media play a positive role in restoring
civility?
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Simon Schama,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/20/11
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Prepare to be challenged and entertained! The inimitable Simon Schama discusses American politics, past and present, and gives an impassioned defense of the importance of "the general welfare"--rather than rugged individualism--at the heart of the American Constitution.
Philosopher A.C. Grayling has created a non-religious Bible that draws from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions. Whatever your beliefs, you will find food for thought in this wise and witty talk.
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Parag Khanna,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/12/11
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We're living in a multi-polar, multi-civilizational world, says Parag Khanna, and the old rules no longer apply. Increasingly, states, international organizations, NGOs, and corporations must work in partnerships and find ways to strengthen mutual accountability.
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Richard K. Betts,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/08/11
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After the Cold War, Fukuyama, Huntington, and Mearsheimer each presented a bold vision of what the driving forces of world politics would be. Yet all have proved to be out of step with recent U.S. foreign policy. Is there a fourth vision for the world ahead?
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Lisa Anderson,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/06/11
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As president of the American University of Cairo, Lisa Anderson was a witness to the recent protests in Tahrir Square. In this fascinating talk, she analyzes the upheavals taking place across the Arab world and explains the differences between them.
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Simon Chesterman,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/05/11
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The boundaries between public and private are crumbling fast, often with the active or passive consent of those whose privacy is breached. What limits, if any, should be placed on a government's efforts to spy on its citizens in the name of national security?
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/22/11
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With its mix of militants, nuclear weapons, and chronic domestic unrest, Pakistan's problems have implications for the entire world. Prize-winning author and journalist Ahmed Rashid gives a chilling account of the situation in his homeland.
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Izzeldin Abuelaish,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/18/11
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Born in a Palestinian refugee camp, Dr. Abuelaish has devoted his life to medicine and to reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, even though his three daughters and a niece were killed by Israeli shelling. What drives this extraordinary man?
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Mark Malloch Brown,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/04/11
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Is the world ready to embrace more powerful international institutions and the values needed to underpin a truly globalist agenda--the rule of law, human rights, and opportunity for all?
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Steven Weber,
Bruce W. Jentleson,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/28/11
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Free market capitalism, Western culture, democracy—the ideas that shaped 20th century world politics and underpinned U.S. foreign policy—have lost a good deal of their strength. Authority is now more contested and power more diffused. How should the U.S. meet these challenges?
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
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02/18/11
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"In the information age, the mark of a great power is not just whose army wins, but also whose story wins," says Joseph Nye. This talk includes his thoughts on China, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, and more.
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Michael Scheuer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/16/11
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CIA veteran Michael Scheuer believes that the U.S. has consistently underestimated Osama bin Laden; what's more, in terms of al Qaeda and its allies, events in Egypt, Tunisia, and Sudan, and the rumblings in Jordan and Yemen are unalloyed good news.
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George Friedman,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/03/11
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The challenge of the next decade is not American power, says George Friedman. It is the preservation of the republic through a management of the international system that faces the fact that, intended or not, we're an empire. So long as we refuse to face that, we can't be effective.
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Evgeny Morozov,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/02/11
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Amid the euphoria about the power of the Internet and social media, Morozov sounds a note of caution. He reminds us that these tools can also entrench dictators, threaten dissidents, and make it harder--not easier--to promote democracy.
Pax Americana is a good thing, declares Gideon Rose. The problem is that even when the U.S. wins militarily, it often botches dealing with war's aftermath because it fails to define its political objectives.
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Barry Eichengreen
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01/20/11
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Barry Eichengreen argues that while the dollar is bound to lose its singular status, the coming changes will be neither sudden nor dire.
As powerful regional forces confront each other over the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, a day of reckoning is inevitable. Will there be a compromise or will the struggle be settled on the battlefield of Lebanon, Syria, Iran, or Israel?
Known as "the lands in between," the Caucasus has long been an arena of great-power contact and conflict. The region is often seen as intractable, yet we should discard misleading cliches such as "ancient hatreds" and "frozen conflicts," says Thomas de Waal.
In a horrific account, Ed Vulliamy describes the ultraviolent, nihilistic narco-traficante culture of the Mexican-American border, a land of drug addicts and cartels.
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Mitchell B. Reiss
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12/13/10
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When, how, and under what conditions should governments talk to terrorists? Can opening a dialogue bring conflicts to a faster resolution?
Michael Korda reveals the extraordinary man behind the myth of Lawrence of Arabia. He discusses T. E. Lawrence's contradictory nature, a born leader who was utterly fearless but remained shy and modest; and a scholar who also invented guerrilla warfare.
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Simon Winchester
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11/17/10
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Master raconteur Simon Winchester tells a series of gripping and little-known tales of the Atlantic, the ocean he calls "the inland sea of modern civilization."
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Robert D. Kaplan
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11/08/10
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Robert D. Kaplan declares that yhe Indian Ocean area will be the true nexus of world power and conflict in the coming years and it is here that U.S. foreign policy must concentrate if America is to remain dominant in an ever-changing world.
Ian Morris draws on 50,000 years of history, archeology, and the methods of social science, to make sense of when, how, and why the paths of development differed in the East and West—and what this portends for the 21st century.
Amar Bhidé takes apart the so-called advances in modern finance, showing how backward-looking, top-down models were used to mass-produce toxic products. He offers tough, simple rules: limit banks and all deposit taking institutions to basic lending and nothing else.
In a striking reinterpretation of the postwar years, Robert Dallek examines what drove leaders around the globe—Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Mao, de Gaulle, and Truman—to rely on traditional power politics, and the lessons we can draw from their mistakes.
In a brand-new view of technology, co-founder of "Wired" magazine Kevin Kelly suggests that it is not just a jumble of wires and metal. He argues that technology is actually a living, evolving organism that has its own unconscious needs and tendencies.
Allison Stanger shows how contractors became an integral part of U.S. foreign policy, often in scandalous ways, but maintains that the problem is not contractors, but the absence of good government. Outsourcing done right is, in fact, indispensable to U.S. interests today.
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Timothy Garton Ash
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10/22/10
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Looking back over the last decade, Timothy Garton Ash catalogues the challenges facing the EU--the economy, a united foreign policy, the integration of Muslims--and concludes that despite its problems the union has taken important steps forward.
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Andrew J. Bacevich
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10/08/10
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It is time to examine the Washington consensus on national security and why it must change, says Professor Bacevich--and to acknowledge that fixing Afghanistan should not take precedence over fixing Detroit.
Reading classical literature teaches us that there are seldom clear answers to real-life dilemmas, says Charles Hill. It gives us the breadth of knowledge to realize that a multitude of factors need to be taken into account.
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Louise Arbour,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/28/10
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Drawing on the International Court's judgment on the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, Arbour examines the pursuit of self-determination in a range of situations, focusing particular attention on the upcoming referendum in Southern Sudan.
More than half of the world's Muslims and Christians live along the tenth parallel in Africa or in Asia. How do these two great intersecting faiths interact?
Journalist Jere Van Dyk tells of his decades-long involvement with Afghanistan, and gives a harrowing account of his 2008 kidnapping and imprisonment by the Taliban in the no-man's land between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Graciana del Castillo
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06/24/10
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After wars end, what steps should countries take to consolidate peace? Graciana
del Castillo identifies five premises that are necessary for war economies to
transition into sustainable and productive markets.
Stephen Kinzer argues that the United States needs to rethink its alliances in the Middle East and focus on strategic relationships with Iran and Turkey rather than Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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Clyde Prestowitz
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06/08/10
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Clyde Prestowitz argues that the U.S. is rapidly losing the basis of its wealth and power, as well as its freedom of action and independence. If we do not make dramatic changes quickly, we will confront a painful, permanent slide in our standard of living.
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Ian Bremmer,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/03/10
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Ian Bremmer demonstrates the growing challenge that state capitalism will pose for the entire global economy, and what free market nations must do to protect their economies as this new system gains popularity.
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Stephen F. Cohen
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05/28/10
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Washington has squandered the opportunity for a fundamentally new U.S.-Russian relationship after the Cold War, says Stephen Cohen.
Robert Wright's astute analysis uses game theory: a religion that sees itself in a zero-sum relationship with outsiders will prove exclusionist and violent, while a religion that sees itself in a non-zero-sum relationship will adjust its theology accordingly. What does this mean for the future?
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Raghuram G. Rajan
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05/18/10
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Raghuram Rajan traces the deepening fault lines in a world overly dependent on the indebted U.S. consumer to power global economic growth, and where the U.S. has growing inequality and a thin social safety net. If these flaws are not fixed, we should be prepared for an even more serious financial crisis.
Bernard Lewis is one of the world's foremost Western scholars on Islam. In this eloquent talk he shares some of his knowledge, and explains how the different world views held by Christians and Muslims can lead to misunderstanding.
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Ben Wildavsky,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/11/10
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Ben Wildavsky shows how international competition for the brightest minds is transforming the world of higher education, and why this revolution should be welcomed, not feared.
What, asks Oxford economist Paul Collier, are realistic and sustainable solutions to correcting the mismanagement of the natural world? Can an international standard be established to resolve the complex issues of unchecked profiteering on the one hand and environmental romanticism on the other?
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Roger E. A. Farmer
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04/30/10
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We need to synthesize the idea that a free-market economy is a self-correcting mechanism and the Keynesian principle that capitalism needs some guidance, says UCLA economist Roger Farmer. The goal is to correct the excesses without stifling entrepreneurship and instituting central planning.
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Derek Bok,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/19/10
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How can governments use the latest research on well-being to improve the quality of life for all their citizens? What role can government policy play in creating individual happiness?
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Charles A. Kupchan,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/13/10
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Diplomatic engagement with rivals, far from being appeasement, is critical to rapprochement between adversaries, says Charles Kupchan, and diplomacy, not economic interdependence, creates the path to peace.
Everything hinges on water; it is essential to life and to civilization. Will there be enough fresh water for 9 billion of us by 2050? In this talk, journalist Steven Solomon discusses the impending global water crisis.
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Deborah Amos,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/26/10
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1.9 million Sunni Muslims have been forced into exile following the Iraq War, says Deborah Amos. What impact is this having on these people's lives, on Iraq, and on the region's delicate balance of power?
From Russia and China to the U.S. and the U.K., many seemingly dissimilar countries have an "unwritten pact," under which, consciously or not, the population trades some of their democratic rights for better living standards and political stability.
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Jack F. Matlock,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/11/10
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Jack Matlock, American ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991, corrects a number of pervasive myths about the Cold War, including the belief that it ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and that the U.S. effectively won.
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Timothy Ferris,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/01/10
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Timothy Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, the Enlightenment values it inspired have swelled the numbers living in free and democratic societies.
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Lee C. Bollinger,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/19/10
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Now that U.S. news outlets can instantaneously disseminate information across the world and foreign media have immediate access to the American market, what does press freedom really mean?
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Joel Kotkin,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/19/10
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How will the enormous projected growth of the U.S. population in the next four decades change the face of America? Will it make the U.S. weaker, or even more diverse and competitive?
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Julian E. Zelizer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/18/10
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According to historian Julian Zelizer, partisan fighting has always shaped American foreign policy, and the issue of national security has always been part of our domestic conflicts
Garry Wills traces how the atomic bomb transformed our nation down to its deepest constitutional roots, defined the presidency, and redefined the government as a national security state.
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John L. Esposito
|
02/03/10
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Is Islam compatible with democracy and human rights? Will religious fundamentalism block the development of modern societies in the Islamic world? Georgetown's John L. Esposito demolishes some common negative stereotypes about Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world.
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Zachary Karabell,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/02/10
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In a witty and astute talk, Karabell describes and explains what he calls 'superfusion'--how the economies and capital flows of China and the U.S. became inextricably entwined to the point where neither can survive without the other.
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George Friedman,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/29/10
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Elections and campaigns are about options. Governing is about constraints. For Obama--and every president--what happens when foreign policy options meet foreign policy constraints?
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Michael D. Gordin,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/25/10
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How does a state make a nuclear bomb? How does it hide its weapons program? How do other states detect nuclear proliferation? Gordin addresses important questions about how we think about nuclear weapons past and present.
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Avishai Margalit,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/15/09
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Compromise can be a political virtue, especially for the sake of peace. When is political compromise acceptable, and when is it fundamentally rotten? What if a rotten compromise is politically necessary? Are there moral limits to acceptable compromise, and what are those limits?
The real key to bringing economic and political change to the Muslim world is capitalism, says Vali Nasr. Entrepreneurial middle classes the world over have a stake in the system and are more interested in economic success than religious extremism.
The market's failure was not simply a result of greed, mass myopia, or government failure, says John Cassidy, although these were all contributing factors. "I ultimately see this crisis as a crisis of ideas, and misapplied ideas."
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Adam Roberts,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/04/09
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Should civil resistance be seen as potentially replacing violence completely, or as a phenomenon that operates in conjunction with, and as a modification of, power politics?
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George Packer,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/03/09
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George Packer discusses some of his essays from the period of September 11, 2001 to November 4, 2008; the luxury of being able to write long, in-depth articles for "The New Yorker" magazine; and the uncertain future of print journalism.
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Michael J. Sandel,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/24/09
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Political philosopher Michael Sandel turns the Council into a classroom. Using questions such as military service, he engages the audience in a lively debate on what individuals owe society.
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Michael Ancram,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/10/09
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In an increasingly interconnected world, soft power and engagement with all the world's players will become increasingly important--and that includes talking to Hamas and the Taliban, says Ancram.
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Caroline Alexander,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/10/09
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The "Iliad" is usually seen as a martial epic glorifying war. Yet in fact, says Alexander, Homer was at pains to depict the Trojan war--and war in general--as a pointless catastrophe that blighted all it touched.
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David L. Bosco,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/02/09
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What has been, is, and should be the role of the UN Security Council? Bosco chronicles its history--its successes and its failures—and concludes with some positive suggestions for the future.
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Carmen M. Reinhart,
Kenneth S. Rogoff
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10/30/09
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Financial crises are not random events, say Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. Looking at the the data on boom and bust cycles that have occurred over the past 800 years, a clear pattern emerges. Why can't we learn from history?
After spending years in the Kingdom talking to people in all walks of life, Robert Lacey gives us a modern history of the Saudis in their own words, revealing a people attempting to reconcile life under religious law with the demands of a rapidly changing world.
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Daniel Jonah Goldhagen,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/16/09
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Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur, Congo, and more--since World War II, genocide has caused more deaths than all wars put together. Goldhagen analyzes how and why genocides start and proposes steps the international community can take to stop them.
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Michael E. O'Hanlon,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/13/09
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Michael O'Hanlon explains how military modeling and planning are done, taking as examples Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and the decisions to be made now about Afghanistan.
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Peter Maass,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/06/09
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From Ecuador to Nigeria, in most oil-producing countries oil has not brought any benefits to the poor and has often damaged people's health and ruined the environment, says Peter Maass. As for Iraq, although the war was not "all about oil," oil certainly played an important role.
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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/06/09
|
Iran, Iraq, Israel, and North Korea--all are rational players, acting in their own self-interest as they perceive it, and with game theory we can predict what they and other players will do next.
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Alex S. Jones,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/22/09
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"Internet culture values speed over accuracy, edge over fairness and balance, and above all, entertainment value above importance and significance. We can be overfed but undernourished in terms of news, and that's what's happening as newspapers scramble to stay in business."
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Thomas R. Pickering,
Joanne J. Myers
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07/06/09
|
How should the United States proceed in its relations with Iran during this turbulent time—and beyond? Should we launch direct, high-level talks between a U.S. envoy and a significant player, or continue on the same course?
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Guy Sorman,
Joanne J. Myers
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07/01/09
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In the 20th century, privatization and market capitalism have reconstructed Eastern Europe and lifted 800 million people—in China, Brazil, and India—out of poverty. What can be understood by this increasing embrace of a "free market" around the globe?
There are no good options in negotiations with North Korea, says Bush's top advisor on North Korean affairs, Victor Cha. It's always a choice between a bad option and a worse option.
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Simon Schama,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/01/09
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In a dazzling display of learning and verbal virtuosity, Simon Schama takes us from Arlington Cemetery to the contrasts between the Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian worldview; to China and Afghanistan; and to many points in between.
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William J. Fallon,
Rory Stewart,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/26/09
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Rebuilding Afghanistan will be a long process, says Stewart, and so our presence there needs to be much lighter. It's inconceivable that for the next 30-40 years we can sustain annual investments of $85 billion and up and maintain 90,000 troops.
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Neil MacFarquhar,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/20/09
|
Despite all the bloodshed in its recent history, the Middle East is still a place of warmth, humanity, and generous eccentricity. Within the turmoil there are those still pioneering political and social change. Will they continue wrestling with their region's future--on their own terms?
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Dominique Moisi,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/19/09
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What are the driving emotions behind our cultural differences? How do these varying emotions influence the political, social, and cultural conflicts that roil our world?
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David Kilcullen,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/19/09
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Have U.S. actions in the "war on terror" blurred the distinction between local and global struggles? How can the U.S. develop strategies that deal with global threats, avoid local conflicts where possible, and win them where necessary?
Renowned economist Lord Nicholas Stern estimates that it will cost only about 2 percent of global GDP to control climate change at manageable levels by 2050. But we cannot delay. The cost of inaction is far greater and more perilous.
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Ali A. Allawi,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/13/09
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What caused the decline of Islamic civilization and how can it be revived? Ali A. Allawi lays out key principles that could make it flourish in this age of globalization.
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Randy Charles Epping,
Steven Greenhouse,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/29/09
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How is globalization affecting the economies of developed and developing nations? What should government, business, and labor do to alleviate the global economic crunch?
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John Micklethwait,
Adrian Wooldridge
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04/17/09
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John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge argues that God is back as part of politics. On the street and in the corridors of power, religion is surging worldwide. Can religion and modernity thrive together? What impact will the world's rise of faith have in this century?
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Ian Bremmer,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/16/09
|
A fat tail is an event that seems unlikely to occur, but when it does, it causes havoc--like the global financial crisis. What will the next fat tail be? Will it come from Iran? Russia? China? The U.S.?
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Frans Timmermans,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/15/09
|
Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans argues that tolerance and the attitude of "live and let live" is no longer enough. He notes that our goal must be integration, which means increasing the interactiveness between communities.
In the past 50 years, Africa has received more than $1 trillion in development-related aid. Has it improved Africans' lives? No, says Dambisa Moyo. In fact, aid has made the situation much worse.
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Nandan Nilekani,
Barbara Crossette
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04/07/09
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Journalist Barbara Crossette talks to Indian software entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani about his book, "Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation." Their topics include politics, philanthropy, and India's role in the world.
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Nandan Nilekani,
Barbara Crossette,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/30/09
|
Nandan Nilekani argues that India's recent economic boom has triggered tremendous social, political, and cultural change. He discusses India's challenges and advantages, such as its current "demographic dividend"--a large population of working age.
It wouldn't take much to rescue those living in extreme poverty, says philosopher Peter Singer. If the top 90 percent of Americans gave at least 1 percent of their income we could reach the Millennium Development Goals.
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Ann Dismorr,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/19/09
|
Ambassador Ann Dismorr examines Turkey's troubled relations with the EU, its role in the Middle East, its complex relationship with the U.S., and the reforms initiated by the Justice and Development Party.
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Thomas P. M. Barnett
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03/18/09
|
Military geostrategist Thomas P. M. Barnett argues that the 21st century will see the rise of a global middle class for the first time, which is in the U.S. national interest. He says that although we will have to make compromises, we should work to hasten this globalization process.
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Emile A. Nakhleh,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/17/09
|
In an informed assessment of the past, present, and future of America's relations with the Muslim world, the CIA's point person on Islam, Emile A. Nakhleh, makes a vigorous case for a renewal of American public diplomacy.
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Jeffrey D. Sachs
|
03/10/09
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Economist Jeffrey Sachs focuses on the financial crisis, both in the U.S. and worldwide. He concludes that we should look at it as a wakeup call that we were not on a sustainable path, and as an opportunity to invest in the future.
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Stephen Lewis,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/03/09
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The UN's record on women's issues has been abysmal, declares Stephen Lewis, particularly in dealing with HIV/AIDS. In order to give 52 percent of the world's population the representation they deserve, it's time to create a special UN Women's Agency.
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H.E. Mr. Heraldo Muñoz,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/27/09
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In his first-hand account of the brutal Pinochet years and their aftermath, H.E. Mr. Heraldo Muñoz asks, "The agonizing question is: Was Pinochet necessary? Could Chile have reached its present prosperity without him?"
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Martin Indyk,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/20/09
|
What can the mistakes and missed opportunities of the past teach the new Obama administration about how to go forward with the Arab-Israeli peace process?
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Thomas E. Ricks,
Jeffrey D. McCausland,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/20/09
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What's next for Iraq? Thomas Ricks predicts that the U.S. military presence there will continue for at least another five to ten years, and that Iraq will change Obama more than Obama will change Iraq.
Once the stuff of science fiction, robotics are already changing the way wars are being fought, says P.W. Singer. How will they affect the politics, economics, laws, and ethics of warfare?
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Daniel P. Erikson,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/09/09
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As Castro finally leaves the stage and a new president arrives in Washington, both the Cuban system and U.S.-Cuba relations could be on the brink of a new era. What will happen next?
George Friedman, founder and CEO of Strategic Forecasting, Inc., asks: What's in store during this new century? Which nations will gain and lose power? How will new technologies change the way we live? He has some predictions that may surprise you.
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Gordon M. Goldstein,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/27/09
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For Bundy, the ultimate actor in Vietnam was not the military, the secretary of state or of defense, or the national security advisor. It was the president. What does this teach us about other American wars?
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Anne-Marie Slaughter
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01/27/09
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Was George W. Bush the true heir of Woodrow Wilson, the architect of liberal internationalism? Was the Iraq War a result of liberal ideas about America's right to promote democracy abroad? Anne-Marie Slaughter begs to differ.
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David Nasaw,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/13/09
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Biographer David Nasaw tells the fascinating story of Andrew Carnegie's efforts to stop World War I, and how his failure broke his heart.
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Robert Hunter,
David C. Speedie
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12/22/08
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The post-Cold War NATO has expanded, both in mission and membership. In each instance, problems have arisen with Russia. What are the lessons to be learned from these stresses, and what are NATO's prospects?
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David Singh Grewal
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12/12/08
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How can we understand the dynamics of globalization? Author David Singh Grewal explains that the idea of network power supplies a coherent set of terms and concepts, which are applicable to individuals, businesses, and countries alike.
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Michael Kinsley,
William Easterly,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/11/08
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Michael Kinsley and William Easterly discuss Bill Gates's controversial proposal for "creative capitalism," in which big corporations integrate doing good into their way of doing business.
The neocons and al-Qaeda have both failed to reach their objectives, says Gilles Kepel. We are now facing one big power in the Middle East: Iran.
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Lawrence Lessig,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/09/08
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We are harming our children--and almost anyone who creates, enjoys, or sells any art form--with a restrictive copyright system driven by corporate interests. Lessig reveals the solutions to this impasse offered by a collaborative yet profitable "hybrid economy."
Does the symbiotic relationship between China and America--"Chimerica" as Niall Ferguson calls it--give reason to hope that America's present economic situation will turn out to be not a crash, but a correction?
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Andrew J. Nathan,
Yun-han Chu,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/04/08
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Nathan and Chu report on surveys in five new democracies (Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Mongolia), one established one (Japan), and two nondemocracies (China and Hong Kong).
For 30 years, the economic condition of most Americans has become ever more precarious. To change this requires a cogent ideology and politics of a managed, rather than laissez-faire, brand of capitalism, says Robert Kuttner.
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Karl E. Meyer,
Shareen Blair Brysac,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/12/08
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How did the modern Middle East come about? Who were the British and Americans who shaped this region, from the 1882 British invasion of Egypt to today's Iraq War?
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Andrew J. Bacevich,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/11/08
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America is facing a profound triple crisis: the economy, the government, and an involvement in endless wars. This threatens all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, says Andrew Bacevich.
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Ted Widmer,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/04/08
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Ted Widmer shows that from its beginnings, the United States, for all its shortfalls, has been by far the world’s greatest advocate for freedom.
Historian Mark A. Noll argues that the reason Barack Obama's candidacy is such an important matter for the American history of race, religion, and politics goes back to the 1830s. Noll focuses on the political effects of religion intermingling with race from a historical perspective.
According to James Traub, although Bush bungled his famous Freedom Agenda—that American liberty is dependent on liberty in other lands—the concept still holds true.
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/13/08
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What qualities make a leader succeed in business or in politics? Joseph Nye contends that modern leadership requires "smart power," which is a judicious situational balance of hard power and soft power.
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Michael W. Doyle,
Harold H. Koh,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/01/08
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Is the Bush Doctrine of aggressive preventive action a justified and legal recourse against threats posed by terrorists and rogue states? Does the United States have the right to defend itself by striking first, or must it wait until an attack is in progress?
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Philip Bobbitt,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/26/08
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The world is in the midst of a great transition from nation states to "market states", says Philip Bobbitt, and consequently almost every widely-held idea we currently have about 21st century terrorism is wrong.
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Bing West,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/16/08
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There has been a fundamental disconnect between the Bush Administration and the reality in Iraq, says Bing West. But nevertheless, the strongest tribe in Iraq--the U.S. army--managed to turn things around.
"To be a moderate in the Arab world today," says Jordanian diplomat Marwan Muasher, "is to be a very, very tiny minority." The reason is that all the Arab center's energy has been focused on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Except for the U.S. and Israel, every nation favors a treaty to prevent the weaponization of space. China has been pushing the U.S. on this since 1999. What are we waiting for?
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Marshall I. Goldman
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06/17/08
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"There's no one to talk to since Mahatma Gandhi died," sighs Putin. In a funny and frightening talk, Marshall Goldman unravels the tangled links between Putin, Russia's new elites, the petroleum industry, and Russia's resurgence.
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Ted Sorensen,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/12/08
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Special Counsel and Advisor to John F. Kennedy Ted Sorensen recalls his life and times with JFK, including the dramas of desegregation and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/09/08
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"Almost every single important extremist leader is living on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan," says Ahmed Rashid. Compared to this threat, Iraq is a sideshow.
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Sir Lawrence Freedman,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/22/08
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Looking back over the last 30 years, historian Sir Lawrence Freedman analyzes the complex politics of the Middle East and shows how America's policy choices in previous crises have led to the current dilemmas
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Kimberly Dozier,
Jeffrey D. McCausland
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05/16/08
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Kimberly Dozier, a veteran Middle East journalist who was critically wounded in a Baghdad bomb blast, talks about the difficulties of reporting from Iraq. It's dangerous, it's expensive, and people don't want to hear it.
In the West the idea of governance by Sharia law is radioactive, says Noah Feldman, yet for many in the Muslim world it represents their aspirations for rule of law. Can Islamic States succeed?
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Ashraf Ghani,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/06/08
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Drawing on his background at the World Bank and as the first post-Taliban finance minister of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani (and co-author Clare Lockhart) develops a comprehensive framework for understanding the problem of state-building.
Quil Lawrence tells the story of the Kurds, the only Iraqi ethnic group that want the Americans to stay. Divided among Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria and numbering 25 million, the Kurds are the largest ethnic group without their own nation.
Americans ask, "Why do they hate us? Is this country pro or anti-American?" But what Khanna finds as he travels the world is that increasingly, many just don't care about the United States. Countries are going their own way and making multiple alliances.
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Guy Sorman,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/15/08
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"There are not six million Tibetans in China," says Guy Sorman. "There are one billion." If the many Chinese who are not beneficiaries of economic development could express themselves, they would say the same things as the Tibetans.
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Paul Krugman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/11/08
|
How can we reclaim the relationship between America's government and its citizens? What will it take to achieve a new New Deal?
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H.E. Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland
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04/07/08
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H.E. Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, discusses how Iceland has successfully reduced its use of oil and coal, and how the fate of nations large and small is being affected by climate change.
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Darius Rejali,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/04/08
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In his exhaustive study, Rejali traces the history of torture through the ages. "It's not so much that torture never works," he says. "The point is, works better than what?" There are better alternatives.
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Jan Egeland,
Shashi Tharoor,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/18/08
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"In spite of being stingy, and in spite of being late, and in spite of being half-hearted, we are making progress," says Egeland. But we must respond to all disasters, not just those that hit the headlines.
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Kishore Mahbubani
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03/04/08
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Kishore Mahbubani argues that the Western dominance is waning and Asia has adopted many Western best practices, from meritocracy to free-market economics. Therefore it's high time that the West gives up its domination of global institutions, from the IMF to the UN Security Council.
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George A. Lopez,
Thomas E. McNamara,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/04/08
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George Lopez gives an overview of effective, multilateral counter-terrorism measures, and as an illustration, Ambassador McNamara analyzes how Libya went from rogue state to member of the Security Council.
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Martin Evans,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/22/08
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After the bloody war of independence, Algerians hoped for a brighter future. Yet an estimated 200,000 people were killed in the 1990s, and today Islamic terrorism is on the rise. What went wrong?
Bernard Haykel sheds light on the inner workings of Saudi Arabia, from the relationship between the government and various Islamic groups, to the position of women and the Kingdom's relationship with the U.S.
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Peter Ackerman,
Larry Diamond,
Arch Puddington,
Jennifer L. Windsor,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/15/08
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Freedom House representatives and Larry Diamond discuss the findings of the FH annual survey, "Freedom in the World 2008," which shines a light on the decline in freedom around the world.
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Mokhtar Lamani,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/11/08
|
Appointed by the Arab League as Special Envoy to Iraq, Mohktar Lamani spent a
year in Baghdad's dangerous Red Zone trying to bring about peace between
Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians. But his efforts were crippled by
sectarian conflict and he resigned in February 2007.
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Jean-Marc Coicaud,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/24/08
|
Why do so many UN peacekeeping operations end in mixed results or outright failure? Reasons include the indecisiveness and bad financial management of the UN and the fact that member states almost invariably put national interests first.
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Bill Bradley,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/23/08
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What will it take to make America better and stronger? We can solve such problems as health insurance and our addiction to oil, says Senator Bill Bradley. But first, politicians must tell the American people some hard truths.
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Paul Collier,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/07/08
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Global poverty is falling, but a minority of developing countries are stagnant and diverging from the rest of mankind, says Collier, which is a danger to global stability. He identifies four poverty traps and in this talk focuses on one of them--resource riches.
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/12/07
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Created as a Muslim state 60 years ago this August, Pakistan is in crisis, wrestling with Draconian laws, the conflict between secularism and Islam, and an increasing terrorist threat. Ahmed Rashid, author of "Taliban," analyses the situation.
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Srgjan Kerim,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/10/07
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We need to involve individuals more and give a lot of what we call our sovereignty to the individual, says Kerim. Shared responsibilities should be the value of such a new culture of international relations, together with freedom, equality, tolerance, and respect.
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Garrett M. Graff
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12/06/07
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The Internet has transformed the election process, says Graff,
and whether candidates like it or not, fundraising and campaigning will never be the same again.
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Matthew Levitt,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/29/07
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Levitt discusses the behind-the-scenes work that Treasury is doing to cut off funds for terrorism, with particular focus on Iran.
Diversity, says Shashi Tharoor, is the very essence and strength of India. Rather than a melting pot, it is more like an Indian "thali," with each dish separate but combining in the mouth to make a harmonious whole.
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Olivier Roy,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/05/07
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What we are witnessing in Europe," says Olivier Roy, "is a transformation from an ethnic
minority into a faith community. These people want to be considered as citizens
and Muslims. They don't consider themselves as a diaspora."
Richard Rhodes says that it's time to finish the work that Reagan and Gorbachev began and get rid of all the nuclear weapons in the world. And led by George Shultz, a group of Reagan-era hawks have a step-by-step proposal on how to do it.
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Walter Russell Mead
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10/31/07
|
Walter Russell Mead wittily explains how the individualistic faiths of Britain and America lent themselves so well to the creation of the modern economic and political order.
Does labor abuse and outright slavery still exist in the United States? Yes, says author and journalist John Bowe, who travels from Florida to U.S.-owned Saipan to investigate modern global slave labor.
Garry Wills says that the U.S. separation of church and state both unleashed evangelical feelings and tempered them with reason and rationality. "Putting together the head and the heart is not easy, but we have been most successful as a country when that has happened."
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Robert B. Reich,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/10/07
|
With the advent of global capitalism, consumers have many more choices and investors are doing well. But democracy, charged with caring for all citizens, is becoming less and less effective, says Reich.
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Alan B. Krueger,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/03/07
|
If we are to address terrorism successfully, we need to make a more rigorous
examination of its causes. Many believe that it springs from poverty and
lack of education, yet as Krueger shows, the evidence is all to the contrary.
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Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/02/07
|
The 57-member OIC has embarked on an ambitious 10-year plan, which includes setting up a 10-billion-dollar fund for poverty alleviation and eventually establishing an independent body on human rights, says Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu.
Mark Lilla notes that "it's not contemporary Islam that's the exception", but, "we are the exception. We live on the other shore from those who see political theology as the only way of life, and we need to drop the illusion that we share a common vocabulary."
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D. Michael Lindsay
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09/20/07
|
D. Michael Lindsay says that evangelicals have become the new internationalists working at both policy and grassroot levels for more American engagement abroad. How does this affect America and the rest of the world?
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Robert D. Kaplan,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/17/07
|
The Pacific is no longer an American lake, says Robert Kaplan, and with the rise of China and India, we should accept that we are moving once again towards a multipolar world.
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Philippe Legrain,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/10/07
|
It's inevitable that more and more people will move across borders, says Philippe Legrain, and rather than put obstacles in their way, we should welcome them. They do the jobs we can't or won't do and their diversity enriches us all.
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Cass R. Sunstein,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/07/07
|
The internet offers us unprecedented access to information. Yet it also allows us to block out diverse ideas, selecting only articles and blogs that reinforce our existing opinions. What does this mean for democracy?
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His Excellency Mr. François Delattre,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/27/07
|
Nicolas Sarkozy is pro-business, a longtime friend of the United States, and the diversity of his new Cabinet is unprecedented. His victory is a turning point for France.
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Major General John D. Altenburg (U.S. Army ret.),
Jeffrey D. McCausland,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/20/07
|
We don't need new laws, says Altenburg. We need to comply with those we already have, and to educate the public about the definition of terms such as "unlawful enemy combatants" and why, if captured, they are not entitled to habeas corpus.
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Norman Pearlstine,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/19/07
|
Norman Pearlstine gives the scoop on Time Inc.'s role in the Scooter Libby/Valerie Plame case. He supports creating federal shield laws so that reporters can protect their sources.
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Allan Rock,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/05/07
|
There are now 250,000-300,000 child soldiers, deployed in 20 countries across three continents. Allan Rock discusses the UN's efforts to change this, with special reference to Sri Lanka.
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Michael Oppenheimer
|
05/23/07
|
Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton explains climate change and discusses ways to deal with this mounting crisis. A self-described optimist, he believes that we can change our behavior and prevent complete catastrophe.
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Andrew Kohut,
Bruce Stokes,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/15/07
|
Once America was considered the champion of democracy, but now we are seen as a militant hyperpower. Why has the world turned against America and what can we do about it?
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Robert Hormats,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/10/07
|
Hormats compares the fiscal policies made in previous American wars to those of the current administration and argues that today's decisions place America's future at risk.
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Martha Nussbaum,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/03/07
|
The Hindu right poses a threat to India's secular democracy, says Martha Nussbaum, and this example of the impact of religious nationalism is relevant to democracies everywhere.
In spite of the hatred and frustration on the surface, Palestinian activist and scholar Sari Nusseibeh optimistically believes that deep down there is readiness on the part of both Israelis and Palestinians to make peace.
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Ali A. Allawi,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/11/07
|
Ali A. Allawi, until recently a senior minister in the Iraqi government, discusses the Iraq crisis. How did it get to this point, and what will be the longterm repercussions on Iraq and the rest of the world?
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Susan L. Shirk,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/05/07
|
The more developed and prosperous China becomes, the more threatened its leaders feel. What are the internal issues that create this insecurity?
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Fabrice Weissman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/04/07
|
The Darfur crisis is one of the most serious in the world, says Weissman of MSF.
But contrary to many reports, it is neither a racial war, nor genocide. "The war
in Darfur is better characterized as a very nasty civil war which is in the
process of spiraling out of control."
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Barbara Bodine,
John H. Gill,
John Tirman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/27/07
|
The panelists discuss newly emerging relationships between the Persian Gulf States and India, two regions with close ties for millennia, and which have increasingly convergent trade and strategic interests.
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Zahid Hussain,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/12/07
|
This is a tense time in Pakistan and Afghanistan, says Zahid Hussain. The Pakistan intelligence service and militant Islam are connected, Musharraf is walking a tightrope, and the Taliban is back in force in Afghanistan.
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Kenneth Roth,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/07/07
|
With Washington's reputation as a leader on human rights gravely damaged by abuses committed in its five-year-old "global war on terror," who will fill the vacuum?
Over six million Muslims of different backgrounds live in the United States, and for the most part, says Paul Barrett, they are highly assimilated. But in certain areas this group has very different views of the world, and we need to understand their complexity.
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Margaret MacMillan,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/21/07
|
How did this momentous meeting between two leaders lay the foundations for today's complex and difficult relationship between the United States and China?
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Simon Chesterman,
James Traub,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/12/07
|
Known as the most impossible job on earth, the tensions between the roles of being Secretary or General have confronted every UN Secretary-General. What will be Ban Ki-moon's strategy be?
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Gernot Erler,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/05/07
|
As demand continues to grow, Gernot Erler asks, can Europe persuade Russia to guarantee its future energy needs?
Edward Luce argues that despite problems such as poverty and corruption, India is undergoing an extraordinary transformation, emerging as an economic powerhouse and an important geopolitical force.
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Peter Ackerman,
Andrei Illarionov,
Jennifer L. Windsor,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/30/07
|
The panelists discuss Freedom House's latest survey which shows that Russia has descended into the ranks of "Not Free" States.
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General Sir Rupert Smith,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/24/07
|
The new paradigm is war amongst the people, where the strategic objective is to win hearts and minds, and the battle is for the people's will, rather than the destruction of an opponent's forces.
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Michael B. Oren,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/18/07
|
"Few Americans know of their very rich, centuries-long legacy in the Middle East," says Oren. "It’s a multifaceted heritage of war and statecraft, altruism and beneficence, wild artistic imaginings, and swashbuckling adventure."
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John B. Taylor,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/11/07
|
What steps did the U.S. government take to freeze terrorist assets worldwide, plan the financial reconstruction of Afghanistan, and oversee the development of a new currency in Iraq?
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H.E. Young-jin Choi,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/12/06
|
If unattended, failed states will become hotbeds of international terrorism, nuclear proliferation, environmental degradation, communicable diseases, and overpopulation. Thus it is in our own-self interest not to turn a blind eye.
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Joseph Cirincione
|
12/05/06
|
Joseph Cirincione says that we are at a nuclear tipping point, and the policy decisions the United States makes over the next 3-5 years will decide whether or not we launch another great wave of nuclear proliferation.
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David M. Malone,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/30/06
|
What role did the UN Security Council play in the international struggles over Iraq?
Ian Buruma explores what happens when political Islam collides with a secular Western European nation.
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Yoram Peri,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/16/06
|
In Israel's political system, the military was once the servant of civilian politicians. Today, however, Yoram Peri argues, generals lead the way when it comes to foreign and defense policymaking.
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Barbara Crossette,
James Traub,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/15/06
|
James Traub discusses the troubled relationship between the UN and the world's only superpower.
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Ethan B. Kapstein
|
11/01/06
|
In a lively session, Ethan Kapstein of INSEAD proposes just what the international community can reasonably do to build a global economy that will be fairer to all.
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Ronald Dworkin,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/31/06
|
If we want substantial political argument—and without it, true democracy is impossible—both "the red" and "the blue" must recognize shared moral principles, says Ronald Dworkin.
Vali Nasr argues that the Shia Crescent—stretching from Lebanon and Syria through the Gulf to Iraq and Iran, finally terminating in Pakistan and India—is gathering strength in the aftermath of Saddam's fall.
Professor Philip Jenkins argues that by the year 2025, Africa and Latin America will have the largest number of Christians in the world. According to Jenkins, this is a different kind of Christianity from that which we are used to in the Global North.
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Joseph E. Stiglitz
|
10/05/06
|
Economist Joseph Stiglitz offers new thinking about the questions that shape the globalization debate, including a plan to restructure the global financial system, ideas for how countries can grow without degrading the environment, and a framework for free and fair global trade.
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Niall Ferguson,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/26/06
|
The twentieth century was by far the bloodiest in all of human history. How can we explain the astonishing scale and intensity of its violence when, thanks to the advances of science and economics, most people were better off than ever before?
Senator John Danforth argues that religious people should engage in politics, but, he notes, "there is a difference between engaging in politics and transforming politics and government into an extension or an enforcer of your religious point of view."
"Khan has wreaked havoc on attempts to restrain the spread of nuclear technology," says Gordon Corera. "He has lowered the barriers of entry for the nuclear game. He has irreversibly changed the mechanics of supply and demand, and left a really damaging legacy."
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Charlayne Hunter-Gault,
Warren Hoge,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/21/06
|
Journalist (and South Africa resident) Hunter-Gault gives a surprisingly optimistic assessment of modern Africa, revealing that there is more to the continent than the bad news of disease, disaster, and despair.
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Shashi Tharoor,
Ruth Wedgwood,
James Traub,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/12/06
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Is the UN "I" for irrelevant, or "I" for indispensable, as Shashi Tharoor would have it? While conceding that the UN is relevant, Ruth Wedgwood argues that "competing multilaterals" should also play a role in solving the world's problems. This witty but deeply serious debate will give both sides of the argument food for thought.
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Jan Eliasson,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/07/06
|
H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson discusses recent steps forward at the U.N., such as the creation of the Peacebuilding Commission, the Central Emergency Fund, and the Human Rights Council.
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Ahmed S. Hashim,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/06/06
|
In one of the most detailed analyses yet of the insurgency and America's efforts to smash it, Ahmed Hashim presents a grim view of the violence in Iraq from inside the American camp.
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Vali Nasr,
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo
|
05/17/06
|
Ms. Haghighatjoo says that Iranian political parties and individuals critical of
their government’s handling of the nuclear issue " have joined the debate [and]
believe that the ultimate pressure that can change Iran’s nuclear policy will
come from within, not from without."
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Charles S. Shapiro,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/10/06
|
"The poor, the indigenous, isolated rural communities are easily attracted by radical populists who offer simple solutions to complex problems," says Shapiro. He suggests paths to economic growth; the audience is most interested in the rise of "leftist" politicians across Latin America.
In order to understand the Arab mistrust of the United States and of the West in general, says Milton Viorst, we must study the turbulent history of the relations between the Christian and Muslim world, particularly the clashes and betrayals since World War I.
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Wole Soyinka,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/17/06
|
Nobel Prize-winning author and activist Wole Soyinka discusses the current crisis in Nigeria where President Obasanjo tries to subvert the constitution and remain in power for a third term. Soyinka also calls for immediate UN intervention in Darfur.
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Joseph E. Stiglitz
|
04/03/06
|
Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz details what a trade agreement might look like if based on principles of economic analysis and social justice for the world economy. He points to how less developed countries are currently disadvantaged in the negotiating process.
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Olivier Roy,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/30/06
|
The spread of Islam around the globe has blurred the connection between a religion, a specific society, and a territory, says Roy. This phenomenon is feeding new forms of radicalism.
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Stephen Lewis,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/28/06
|
Lewis offers his personal, often searing, insider's account of the plight of Africa and Africans with AIDS--and the wealthy world's betrayal.
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Gershom Gorenberg,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/20/06
|
Gershom Gorenberg discusses the history of the Israeli settlements and examines the roadblocks that continue to frustrate the establishment of peaceful relations with the Palestinians.
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Barnett Rubin,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/14/06
|
Recent elections mark the last formal step towards democracy in Afghanistan. Yet
the past year has seen a steady increase in political violence. What is being
done to ensure that democracy and stability take hold?
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Michael J. Sandel
|
03/08/06
|
Professor Michael Sandel argues that there is an allergy among liberals to using substantive moral, and even religious arguments in politics. Yet, he notes, "it's often not possible, and in any case not desirable, to separate political argument from moral and religious argument."
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Yitzhak Nakash,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/06/06
|
Professor Yitzhak Nakash presents in great detail the history of the Shi'a branch of Islam, including an analysis of the tenuous political process in post-Saddam Iraq.
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Gary Hart,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/03/06
|
Gary Hart outlines the fundamental changes that America must grapple with when confronting elusive terrorist threats. The new security regime will require a shield for the homeland as well as a cloak of non-military protections.
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Michael Walzer,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/28/06
|
For the first time since his classic "Just and Unjust Wars" was published in 1977, Professor Michael Walzer has again collected his most provocative arguments about contemporary military conflicts and the ethical issues they raise.
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Nancy Sherman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/22/06
|
While few soldiers may have read the works of Epictetus or Marcus Aurelius, it is undoubtedly true that the ancient philosophy known as Stoicism guides the actions of many in the modern military.
Steven Waldman, founder of the website belief.net.com, presents some surprising conclusions about how beliefs affect voting in the United States.
According to Chris Patten, Europe wants to be a partner to the United States rather than a rival. Meanwhile, America and Europe both need to recognize that they no longer set the global agenda, and that they must work with and through China and India.
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Bernard-Henri Lévy,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/27/06
|
In his entertaining and sometimes provocative book, celebrated French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy takes a fascinating new look at the country that Americans think they know, investigating issues at the heart of U.S. democracy.
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Richard N. Gardner,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/19/06
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Former U.S. Ambassador Richard N. Gardner discusses the delicate balancing act of diplomacy, politics and practicality in Cold War Italy.
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Sir Emyr Jones Parry,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/12/06
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The UK ambassador to the UN describes the positive rethinking of development policy that occurred in 2005 and the need to make 2006 the year for action. He touches on the issues of aid, trade, UN reform, harmonization among donor organizations, and the struggle against corruption.
Author John Allen debunks some of the myths that surround Opus Dei, the prelature of the Roman Catholic Church that promotes the sanctity of ordinary daily work. Allen also explains Opus Dei's history, goals, and practices.
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P. W. Singer,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/01/05
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P. W. Singer examines the Pentagon's policy of contracting private security and logistics firms for tasks ranging from combat to catering in the Iraq War. What are the ethical dilemmas and conflicting incentives of outsourcing a traditional state function to essentially mercenary groups?
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Philip J. Hilts,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/29/05
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Hilts warns that the emergence of new diseases and the resurgence of old ones has put the world on the brink of a global health crisis. Yet we have more than enough technology and funds to bring about a golden age of public health. What's the missing element?
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Otto Schily,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/21/05
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Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily addresses the problems of integrating immigrants into German society and talks about the progress made, which includes overhauling the Nationality Act for the first time since 1913 and introducing integration courses for new arrivals.
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Moises Naim,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/09/05
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Moises Naim explains that the counterfeit trade is worth 630 billion dollars a year, including fake airplane parts, medicines and even gas stations, and growth in trading people, arms and drugs is equally staggering.
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Benjamin M. Friedman
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10/27/05
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Political economist Benjamin Friedman argues that economic growth is a prerequisite for a liberal, open society. He contends that it encourages tolerance, democracy and generous public support for the poor, while economic stagnation and insecurity result in the very opposite.
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Kurt Campbell,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/19/05
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American attention is focused on the "war on terror. " But 20 years from now we may look back and realise that the rise of China and the new Asian dynamics that resulted were actually far more significant, says Kurt Campbell.
Princeton Professor Robert Wuthnow asks whether we are willing to do the hard work required to achieve genuine religious diversity and understanding.
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J. Douglas Beason
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10/06/05
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“Directed-energy weapons”—lasers, high-powered microwaves, and particle beams—used to be the stuff of science fiction, says J. Douglas Beason. But now they’re a reality, and will transform the nature of warfare.
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Robert D. Kaplan,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/27/05
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Robert D. Kaplan provides an insider's account of our current involvement in
world affairs, as well as painting a vivid picture of how defense policy is
implemented at the grassroots level.
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Elisabeth Sifton
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09/20/05
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Elisabeth Sifton, Reinhold Niebuhr's daughter, reviews her father's legacy and concludes that many of today's Christian leaders are ignoring the radical truths he espoused.
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Andrew Kuper,
Peter Singer
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09/19/05
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Who has the responsibility to alleviate poverty and uphold human rights in a globalized world where corporations often wield more power than nation-states?
George Weigel ponders the growing--and to him acutely disturbing--secularity of Europe, which he believes raises urgent questions about the future of democracy worldwide.
After a recent visit to Iraq, Larry Diamond reflects sadly on how we have allowed the situation "to slip into a state of severe insecurity, stalemate, and economic disarray."
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William Easterly,
Joseph E. Stiglitz,
Michael M. Weinstein,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/08/05
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William Easterly, Joseph Stiglitz and Michael Weinstein discuss the main features of globalization, asking what is new, what drives the process, how it changes politics, and how it affects global institutions like the UN.
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Clyde Prestowitz
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06/01/05
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Economist Clyde Prestowitz believes that the United States is sliding toward economic decline under globalization, arguing that these trends are creating not only increased economic strength in Asia, but also geopolitical power.
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Andrew J. Bacevich,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/17/05
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Bacevich argues that military force has increasingly become the preferred instrument of American foreign policy, a process that began not with 9/11, but with the end of the Cold War.
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Admiral John Hutson,
Michael Posner,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/12/05
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The abuses at Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, and elsewhere, have undermined our standing around the world, say Posner and Hutson.
David Rieff tries to bridge the gap between our democratic dreams and the means we use to achieve them in tricky wars of humanitarian purpose.
Hugh Pope discusses the past, present, and future of the Turkic world, which stretches from Central Asia to Turkey. His topics include oil, trade, and the question of Turkey and the EU.
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David L. Phillips
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04/27/05
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Originally in favor of going to war, Phillips, a former State Department official, discusses the mistakes made because of the lack of a plan for winning the peace.
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Alan Wolfe,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/19/05
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In a candid discussion of American politics and ideals, Alan Wolfe looks to the future and how the U.S. can keep liberty and equality alive and available to others around the world.
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Thomas L. Friedman
|
04/06/05
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Globalization, particularly outsourcing, is leveling the playing field around the world, says columnist Thomas Friedman, making India a major player.
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Jeffrey D. Sachs
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03/30/05
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In this 2005 talk, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the New Millennium Project, proposes ways to end extreme poverty all over the world within the next twenty years.
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Alvaro Vargas Llosa,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/22/05
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Most Latin American countries have not overcome their inheritance from the colonial past: corporatism, state mercantilism, privilege, bottom-up wealth redistribution, and political law. By adopting true market reform under the rule of law, these countries can build prosperous democracies.
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Morton Halperin,
Joseph T. Siegle,
Michael M. Weinstein,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/17/05
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The authors argue that democracy and development go hand in hand. Therefore, more aid should be given to poor democracies and democratizers than to poor autocracies.
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Tom Diaz,
Barbara Newman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/15/05
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"Hezbollah makes Al-Qaeda look like Sunday-schoolers, children, kindergartners" according to an FBI contact interviewed by journalists Diaz and Newman.
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Kishore Mahbubani,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/02/05
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Mahbubani observes that much of the world is disappointed with America's leadership, and yet would like it to take the lead in creating a stable world order. But can America revive the kind of leadership necessary to do this?
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Kwame Anthony Appiah,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/16/05
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"Questions of identity, especially various forms of political identity, ethnicity, nationality, and politicized religion, are supposed to be problems for liberalism. So I became interested as well in how one should find a place for these forms of identity while maintaining the basic liberal faith in the importance of individuality."
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Lt. Gen. Romeo A. Dallaire,
Joanne J. Myers,
Pamela Wallin
|
02/11/05
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In 1994, General Dallaire was the commander of the UN Assistance Mission to Rwanda and powerless to stop the massacre of 800,000 people, who were slaughtered in 100 days. Yet just as in Rwanda ten years ago, the UN is reluctant to use the word "genocide" to describe Darfur.
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P. W. Singer,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/09/05
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The ever-growing number of child soldiers across the globe is one of the world's most under-reported stories. "There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers right now serving as active combatants," says Singer, "and another half-million who are serving in armed forces not at war."
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Kenneth Roth,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/03/05
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Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, discusses Darfur, Abu Ghraib, and the role of the UN.
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Sebastian Mallaby,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/27/05
|
Will the World Bank survive? Despite its shortcomings, Mallaby believes we need it badly, as there is a serious lack of strong institutions to manage the challenges created by globalization and transnational threats.
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Stephen Flynn,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/25/05
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Flynn analyzes America's failure to address the reality that terrorism will continue as a form of warfare, and offers a prescription for making our networks more resilient to the inevitability of terrorist attacks.
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Theodore Friend,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/20/05
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The September 2004 election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono gives Theodore Friend reason to be hopeful about the future of Indonesian democracy.
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Bjorn Lomborg,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/19/05
|
According to Lomborg, the $50 billion that will be spent on development assistance over the next four years ought to be focused on realistic goals such as ending malnutrition and communicable diseases—not on reducing global warming.
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Noah Feldman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/13/05
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Feldman, a constitutional expert and Arabic-speaker sent to Iraq by the Bush administration, argues that U.S. intervention in Iraq amounts to a moral promise. Unless asked to leave, he believes that we are morally bound to stay until a legitimately elected government can govern effectively.
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T. R. Reid,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/08/04
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T. R. Reid discusses the state of European integration and argues that Americans are not aware of the extent to which the EU has turned into a major global player, especially in trade matters.
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Jean-Marie Guehenno,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/07/04
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The demand for UN peacekeeping troops has risen at an unprecedented rate, says Guéhenno, Under-Secretary General for UN Peacekeeping Operations. This presents enormous challenges, such as mobilizing troops and resources, and deploying them in a timely manner.
The loss of numerous jobs to outsourcing harms the middle class and presents a grave threat to the U.S. economy, argues Lou Dobbs.
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Lionel Barber,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/30/04
|
Lionel Barber identifies several crucial tests that will determine the future of the transatlantic alliance.
Graham Allison makes a sobering assessment on why a nuclear attack on U.S. soil is inevitable unless we take immediate, well-concerted measures.
Sharansky argues that spreading democracy everywhere is not only possible, but essential to the survival of our civilization.
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Timothy Garton Ash,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/08/04
|
EU-U.S. strategic cooperation is required to tackle the main security challenges of the 21st century.
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Jagdish Bhagwati
|
10/28/04
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While a leading free trade proponent, professor Jagdish Bhagwati does not advocate total laissez-faire economics. Instead he argues that continued globalization needs to be "managed."
John Judis uncovers troubling parallels between America's foreign policy in the beginning of the 21st century and its imperialist experiments in the 1890s.
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Michael Walzer,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/13/04
|
Walzer rejects the argument that the invasion of Iraq was justified: "It is only massacre or ethnic cleansing or mass enslavement in progress that justifies marching an army into someone else's country. That is what humanitarian intervention is, and that is not what the Iraq war was."
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Michael Novak,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/06/04
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Novak insists that concepts of political, economic, and religious liberty can be found in the Qur'an.
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Michael T. Klare,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/30/04
|
"Because of the geographic shifts in the production of oil to areas of instability, growing competition for access to that oil, and the militarization of foreign oil policy, we are risking a very high level of violence emerging. We must move swiftly and systematically to develop a post-petroleum economy."
The success of the war on terror will ultimately depend on optimal respect for fundamental rights at home and abroad, not on curtailing them in the name of security, says William Schulz of Amnesty International.
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Gilles Kepel,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/22/04
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Kepel argues that Americans have committed a fundamental error in assuming that the followers of Osama bin Laden are waging a war on the American state.
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Dennis Ross,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/13/04
|
Dennis Ross explains why shattering deeply entrenched myths about the Middle East and facing up to reality is a precondition for the success of the Israel-Palestine negotiations.
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Lewis Lapham,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/28/04
|
Lewis Lapham criticizes the suppression of dissenting voices in the aftermath of September 11th and the complicity of the media in manipulating public opinion on the war against Iraq.
James Chace looks back at the 1912 presidential elections and their effect on U.S. foreign policy.
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John Micklethwait,
Adrian Wooldridge,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/10/04
|
How did conservatism achieve the extraordinary dominance of American politics it enjoys today? Among other reasons, by being better organized and more in tune with core American values, say John Micklethwait and Adrian Woodridge.
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Thomas W. Lippman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/02/04
|
Veteran Middle East correspondent Thomas Lippman traces the history of the U.S.-Saudi relationship and discusses its current state post 9/11.
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Walter Russell Mead
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05/27/04
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"We are creating new and ever more dangerous problems for ourselves simply by doing what it is that we like to do," says Walter Russell Mead, "And the idea that more capitalism necessarily creates more stability in the world is an illusion...." We must get our foreign policy back on track.
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Francis Fukuyama,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/19/04
|
According to Fukuyama, we know less than we think we do about building political institutions, designing constitutions, and bolstering civil society in failed or weak states.
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Robert B. Reich,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/19/04
|
Robert Reich is optimistic about John Kerry’s victory in the presidential elections, because his research shows that most Americans adhere to fundamental liberal principles.
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Antonio Vitorino,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/14/04
|
Vitorino says that a massive migration from east to west within the EU is unlikely and in any case, an influx of third-country nationals might help the EU to address population aging.
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Ann Cooper,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/05/04
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Cooper says that the war on terrorism is producing new dangers and new restrictions for the press.
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Niall Ferguson,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/28/04
|
Ferguson argues that the United States would be better off embracing, rather than denying, its imperial destiny.
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James Gustave Speth,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/22/04
|
Environmental lawyer James Speth recommends steps towards sustainability ranging from creating a world
environmental organization with the power to make treaties with teeth, to
encouraging innovative measures at the local level--what he calls "green jazz."
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Itamar Rabinovich,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/21/04
|
Itamar Rabinovich discusses the current Palestinian-Israeli "war of attrition" following the failure of Camp David and the Oslo Process.
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Anne-Marie Slaughter,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/15/04
|
Slaughter describes a vision of a world order where international institutions are embedded in an increasingly dense web of networks spanning the globe.
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/13/04
|
Hard power alone cannot deal with terrorism successfully, says Professor Joseph Nye. We must use a combination of hard and soft power.
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Ian Buruma,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/08/04
|
Buruma points out that the hatred animating Islamic radicals conforms to the classic counter-Enlightenment vision of Western society as rootless, timid, and soulless.
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Zbigniew Brzezinski,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/25/04
|
To prevail in the war on terrorism and other looming geo-strategic crises, says Brzezinski, America needs serious allies, not just "coalitions of the willing."
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Julia Preston,
Samuel Dillon,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/18/04
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Julia Preston and Samuel Dillon discuss Mexico’s extraordinary democratic transformation.
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Robert M. Perito,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/10/04
|
Perito argues the need for creating a new U.S. force that is trained to assist with post-conflict operations in places like the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
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David M. Malone,
Kishore Mahbubani,
Ian Martin,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/04/04
|
Malone points out that disagreements among the Permanent Five Security Council members have been confined to just three issues since the end of the Cold War: Israel-Palestine, Kosovo, and Iraq.
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Steve Coll,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/01/04
|
Coll spotlights the interactions among the CIA, Pakistani intelligence (ISI), Saudi intelligence, and other hidden networks (particularly al Qaeda and its affiliates) decades before 9/11/01.
Diamond insists that the United States and the international community have a moral obligation, as well as a political opportunity, to encourage, foster, and promote the global spread of democracy more systematically and effectively than at any point in the past thirty years.
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Reinhard Eroes,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/24/04
|
Since the time of the Soviet occupation in Afghanistan, much of the Afghan population has endured enormous hardship. Dr. Reinhard Eroes, the founder of Children's Aid Afghanistan, discusses the current issues and challenges in humanitarian assistance.
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Sir Kieran Prendergast,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/19/04
|
Sir Kieran Prendergast gives a progress report on the panel appointed by Kofi Annan to recommend changes that would enable the UN to respond more effectively to peace and security challenges—broadly interpreted to include threats of poverty, hunger, and disease.
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Robert Kagan,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/04/04
|
The widening military gap between Europe and the United States has an unavoidable effect, says Robert Kagan. "It is a natural human phenomenon that if you have more power, you are more likely to use it. When you have less power, you are less likely to use it, and also less likely to consider it a legitimate activity."
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Michael Ignatieff,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/23/04
|
Ignatieff says that while the battle against terrorism may sometimes require infringing international norms on the use of force, we must constantly guard against slipping from the lesser evil to the greater.
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David E. Hoffman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/21/04
|
Is Khordorovsky a captialist or a criminal, and what does his case teach us about Putin's Russia?
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John H.F. Shattuck,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/20/03
|
Shattuck says that the forces unleashed against us on 9/11 were the very forces of disintegration that he witnessed in Rwanda, Bosnia, and Haiti, and are most powerfully evident in the Middle East. He also gives insight into how the Clinton administration's human rights policies evolved.
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Shashi Tharoor,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/13/03
|
Shashi Tharoor assesses the legacy of Nehru, the man who "through his writings, his speeches, his leadership,...invented India in an extraordinary way."
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Joseph E. Stiglitz,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/05/03
|
Looking back at the economy of the 1990s, Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz draws a lesson for the present: “We must restore the balance between the public and private sector if we are to resume the robust growth that is part of our potential, and make globalization work not only for us but for all the world.”
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Benjamin R. Barber,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/21/03
|
Benjamin Barber urges the United States to curb its militaristic impulses in favor of working for "global comity" within the framework of universal rights and law.
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Lester R. Brown,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/15/03
|
An in-depth look at human damage to the natural environment and the social and technological possibilities for remedying such degradation.
According to economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman, the radicalism of the current administration’s political agenda, from its Social Security plans to its anti-environmental policies, is throwing the country into a deep crisis.
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Niall Ferguson,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/16/03
|
Niall Ferguson examines the rise and demise of the British world order and its lessons for the United States.
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Cass R. Sunstein,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/11/03
|
Based on research of group polarization, Cass Sunstein makes a convincing case that societies function better if they allow dissent.
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Clyde Prestowitz,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/10/03
|
Clyde Prestowitz sees American unilateralism, rooted in the claim to exceptionalism, as the main reason behind the growing anti-American sentiments around the world.
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Michael Hirsh,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/04/03
|
The world’s remaining superpower has failed to grasp the importance of its global leadership responsibilities, argues Michael Hirsch. Assuming a leadership position within a multilateral international system will serve best both American and the world’s security interests.
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Graham Fuller,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/22/03
|
Fuller predicts that although unlikely to disappear altogether, radical Islamist groups will eventually learn to compromise as more modest groups spring up to compete with them.
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Ross Terrill,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/14/03
|
Our interests with China are peace, prosperity, and mutual exchange between two great countries and civilizations with openness for business, for students, for the professions. It is also in our interests that there be political liberalization, but it is not America’s business to bring this about.
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Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
|
05/01/03
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Rabbi Jonathan Sacks hopes that mankind can develop a doctrine of peaceful coexistence grounded in religious texts common to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
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Marshall I. Goldman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/30/03
|
How did a small group of Russian oligarchs manage to amass incredible fortunes in the short period following the end of the Cold War? Marshall Goldman explains the peculiarities of the post-Soviet economic and political space that opened the way for the rise of the oligarchs.
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Shepard Forman,
Kishore Mahbubani,
David M. Malone,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/24/03
|
How is U.S. unilateralism in foreign policy perceived from abroad? This panel of international affairs experts presents a range foreign perspectives and discusses the challenges the U.S faces by adopting a "go it alone" policy.
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Paul Berman,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/15/03
|
Paul Berman discusses the common ideological underpinnings of totalitarian movements, from fascism and communism to the radical Islamist movement. He observes that in every case it is liberal naïveté that allows totalitarianism to progress.
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Andrew J. Bacevich
|
04/09/03
|
A sole superpower in the aftermath of the Cold War pursuing an increasingly militarized foreign policy, America is no longer shy about its imperial ambitions, says Andrew Bacevich.
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Donald P. Gregg,
Joanne J. Myers
|
04/01/03
|
Donald Gregg sees North Korea’s recent confessions to kidnapping Japanese citizens and reviving its nuclear program as “evidence that Kim Jong Il is trying to remove some of the obstacles of the past.” Gregg, who favors U.S.-North Korea dialogue, said he fears that a “perfect storm” is brewing on the Korean peninsula.
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Geneive Abdo,
Jonathan Lyons
|
03/18/03
|
The national struggle underway in modern Iran is indicative of the theological debates in the Middle East today. At the heart of the turmoils in the region is not a clash between civilizations but "a clash of Islam against Islam," argue Geneive Abdo and Jonathan Lyons.
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William Kristol,
Lawrence Kaplan,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/05/03
|
William Kristol and Lawrence Kaplan argue that a successful nation-building effort in Iraq will not only be a catalyst for change in the Middle East but also serve as proof that there is a compatibility between American interests and ideals.
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Charles A. Kupchan,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/27/03
|
International relations authority Charles Kupchan argues that America ignores Europe at its own peril.
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Robert Kagan,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/04/03
|
The widening military gap between Europe and the United States has an unavoidable effect, says Robert Kagan. "It is a natural human phenomenon that if you have more power, you are more likely to use it. When you have less power, you are less likely to use it, and also less likely to consider it a legitimate activity."
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Lt. Gen. Romeo A. Dallaire,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/29/03
|
Dallaire recalls the agony of not being able to take action to halt the Rwandan genocide because he lacked the requisite authority as well as manpower and equipment. In essence, he lacked the support of the international community.
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Maude Barlow,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/12/02
|
Many developing countries are now privatizing their water industry, and as a result many poor people cannot afford clean water, says Barlow. "Leaving water in the hands of private companies—which are driven by commercial concerns and are not accountable to anyone—is socially and environmentally immoral."
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Robert F. Drinan,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/20/02
|
"We are on the wrong side of history," says Father Robert F. Drinan regarding the U.S. opposition to the International Criminal Court.
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Nitin Desai,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/12/02
|
Larger United Nations' goals such as eliminating poverty and addressing health issues are inextricably linked to environmental concerns, says Nitin Desai.
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Jeffrey D. Sachs
|
11/06/02
|
Markets alone will not solve the problems of Africa and other poor parts of the world, says economist Jeffrey Sachs. "Markets will not stop mosquitoes from transmitting malaria, nor can they stop, or even diminish, the transmission of HIV/AIDS."
If we agree with the notion of a global community, then we must extend our concepts of justice, fairness, and equity beyond national borders by supporting measures to decrease global warming and to increase foreign aid, argues Professor Peter Singer.
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Peter Maass,
Michael Walzer,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/16/02
|
Humanitarian intervention does not "belong in the shadows" because it has the moral urgency of self-defense, which puts it ahead of preventive war, say Walzer and Maass.
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Warren Zimmermann,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/09/02
|
The U.S. has always been an expansionist power, but between 1891-1909, it was exceptionally so, says Zimmerman. Five individuals in particular helped to drive the U.S. government in this direction: Theodore Roosevelt; naval strategist Alfred T. Mahan; Senator Henry Cabot Lodge; Secretary of State John Hay; and corporate lawyer turned colonial administrator Elihu Root.
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David Rieff,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/02/02
|
Humanitaniarism is losing its traditional function of relief provision and is increasingly used for political purposes, often with disastrous consequences, warns David Rief.
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/25/02
|
Afghanistan is less stable today than it was six months ago because of U.S. reluctance to provide security outside Kabul and the international community's failure to deliver the full amount of the reconstruction aid it promised, says Ahmed Rashid.
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Ashutosh Varshney,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/24/02
|
Why are some cities in India rife with ethnic conflict whereas others are not? According to Varshney, a city's proneness to violence is directly linked to its level of civic integration.
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Barnett Rubin,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/25/02
|
Afghanistan is "hard to rule" for the same reason it's hard to conquer: it does not have many resources, the settlements are far apart, and there is not much water, contends Barnett Rubin.
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Max Boot,
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/03/02
|
The United States has a long but largely uncelebrated history of fighting "small wars," and "if the past is a prologue of what is to come, small wars will be the main occupation of the American military for the foreseeable future," says Max Boot.
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Joseph E. Stiglitz,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/15/02
|
There will be a strong backlash against globalization unless the international institutions that govern it become more democratic, says Stiglitz.
|
Francis Fukuyama
|
05/10/02
|
"We need to steer technology towards aims that are clearly therapeutic and away from ones that involve essentially human redesign, trying to improve our human species . . . . That was tried at great cost over the past couple of centuries and rejected as costly and ineffective."
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John L. Esposito,
Joanne J. Myers
|
05/07/02
|
The communications revolution of the late 20th century made Muslims around the world aware that they were part of a global community, a development that helped to "globalize" the idea of jihad, says John Esposito.
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Gilles Kepel,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/17/02
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Today, Islamist movements in the Middle East are fragmented, according to Gilles
Kepel, and no longer have the capacity to mobilize different social groups
simultaneously as they did in the 1970s and 1980s. Yet they remain dangerous
because they believe jihad is "the other superpower."
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Philip Jenkins,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/17/02
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Christian influence on world events is less likely to originate in the United States or Europe than in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, where a version of Pentecostalism has been spreading, says Philip Jenkins.
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Mohammed el-Nawawy,
Adel Iskander Farag,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/15/02
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The Qatar-based television network Al-Jazeera has been a hugely positive force in the Middle East, according to Mohammed el-Nawawy and Adel Iskander Farag, because it has put pressure on authoritarian Arab regimes and helped to promote freedom of expression.
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Samantha Power,
Michael N. Barnett,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/11/02
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Why did the United States largely ignore the Rwandan genocide and yet devote endless time to the contemporaneous Bosnian crisis? According to Samantha Power, the reason is "politics, politics, politics."
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Bernard Lewis,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/26/02
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In the Middle East today, there are two prevailing opinions about why the Islamic world now lags behind the West, according to Bernard Lewis. The first is the Islamic world has simply failed to keep up with modernity. The second is almost the exact opposite: it has become too much "like the infidels" and abandoned its own heritage, tradition, and faith.
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Kenneth Roth,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/14/02
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Governments around the world are wrong to use the war on terrorism as an excuse to disregard human rights principles, says Kenneth Roth. "The war on terror must also be seen as a war on behalf of human rights if, in the long term, this campaign is going to be successful."
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Richard A. Posner,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/11/02
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"The nature of modern academic life is inimical to creative public intellectual activity," says Richard A. Posner. In his view, today academic public intellectuals serve only an entertainment function and a solidarity function, but they rarely influence policy.
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/06/02
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Joseph Nye argues that U.S. leaders must create a framework that preserves American values congruent with those of other people in the world. "If you're going to play three-dimensional chess by looking at only one board, you're going to lose," he says.
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Sir Jeremy Greenstock,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/27/02
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What's the role of the UN in countering the threat of terrorism? Sir Jeremy Greenstock discusses the newly founded Counter-Terrorism Committee and the challenges in designing a collective response to terrorism.
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Edward Luttwak,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/13/02
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The use of precision-guided weapons is a "revolution in military affairs," claims Edward Luttwak. They immediately shifted the focus in warfare from "hitting something" to "knowing what to hit" -- thus to military and cultural intelligence.
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Shepard Forman,
Stewart Patrick,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/05/02
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After analyzing a number of specific global policy issues, Forman and Patrick advise that when dealing with transnational challenges, "unilateralism is neither wise nor sustainable."
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Hilde Frafjord Johnson
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02/04/02
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The international community should look to Rwanda for lessons in post-conflict assistance that apply to Afghanistan, argues Johnson. Also, profound knowledge of local conditions is a necessary precondition for a successful involvement.
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David P. Calleo,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/31/02
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With the end of the Cold War Europe is once again at a great historical watershed, says David Calleo in this discussion of the history and current state of the European Union. He argues that "Maastricht implies a future where the world is plural, rather than unipolar" and urges the U.S. to pay more attention to developments across the Atlantic.
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Kishore Mahbubani,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/24/02
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The world is nearing the end of a 500-year cycle of Western-dominated history that began with European colonization, says Mahbubani. The end of the cold war "unfroze" historical forces, but most Americans remain unaware that major changes are imminent.
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Bill Berkeley,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/15/02
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Tyrannical leaders in modern-day Africa create and stoke ethnic conflict so they can "divide and rule," according to Bill Berkeley. The absence of legitimate institutions and justice has allowed these leaders and their "mafia culture" to rise to a position of preeminence, he says.
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Robert D. Kaplan,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/10/02
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The teachings of ancient Greek, Roman and Chinese philosophers are relevant in today's foreign policy environment because every current and future challenge to civilization has some parallel in the ancient past.
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/17/01
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Central Asia will remain precariously unstable until the repressive governments are forced to reform, asserts Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid. There is reason for optimism, he says, but also a need for vigilance -- especially as the U.S. war on Afghanistan has further embittered Islamic extremists.
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Walter Russell Mead,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/12/01
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Many have accused the United States of being negligent in the area of foreign policy, yet, according to Walter Russell Mead, almost no other country has had more success in international affairs over the last 225 years.
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Ian Buruma,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/05/01
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The Chinese government sees itself as the caretaker of the entire "cosmic order" in China and views democracy as a destabilizing force that would cause widespread suffering and chaos, says Ian Buruma. He explains why this view is a myth that will ultimately backfire on the Chinese Communist Party.
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Shashi Tharoor,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/28/01
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In this talk, Shashi Tharoor discusses his latest novel, based on a series of religious riots in India in the late 1980s and addressing issues of communal tension in that country.
Who is bin Laden? What drives him? Peter Bergen is one of the few Westerners who has interviewed bin Laden face to face. He has also interviewed his family and done extensive background research. Thus he gives us valuable insights into what makes bin Laden tick.
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Mark Malloch Brown,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/19/01
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The "real lesson of September the 11th was that states don't have the right to fail," asserts Brown. The international community should place priority on addressing the three principal reasons for state failure--democracy deficits, failing educational systems, and stagnant economies.
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Chris Patten,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/14/01
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Chris Patten explains Europe's role in the 21st century and why a multilateralist approach is needed to address "the dark side of globalization."
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Michael Ignatieff,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/02/01
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Human rights scholar Michael Ignatieff happened to be in Kabul when the Taliban came to power. He has never forgotten his conversations with Afghan women during that time, who, he says, "taught me more about human rights than I have ever learned before or since." In this talk, Ignatieff discusses the poor human rights records in many Islamic countries and possible remedies.
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Fawaz A. Gerges,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/29/01
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Fifty years ago, the entire Middle East used to admire the United States, viewing it as an island of progressivism in a Europe-centric world. Today there are no major political groups in the Arab world that are pro-American. What went wrong? Gerges examines the trajectory of recent U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East for some answers.
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Alain Epp Weaver,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/03/01
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If Oslo is dead, asks Alain Epp Weaver, then what lies beyond it?
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Jean De Ruyt,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/26/01
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How should the European Union respond to the threat of terrorism? Ambassador De Ruyt presents several concrete measures agreed upon by the member states.
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Louise Fréchette
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09/20/01
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Will the "new war" on terrorism usurp resources that might otherwise have gone to causes such as the global fight on AIDS? UN official Louise Fréchette presents the case for spending $7-10 billion per year on a global AIDS prevention campaign.
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Michael T. Klare,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/22/01
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Competition for control of resources has been the root of many conflicts since the end of the Cold War, argues Klare. The view that resources are vital to national security means that governments will be more willing to solve resource problems by the use of force.
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Paul Kennedy,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/11/01
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What will the future look like? Can we use history as a guide? Kennedy describes how the international political landscape changed after World War I, World War II and the collapse of the Soviet Union--and how it may change again in the 21st century.
The politics of low prices in the oil market won't disappear, says Morse. "There are too many forces—too many temptations—to engage in market share wars. Just because we're now in a world of high prices doesn't mean that they will last forever."
Anthony Lake argues that the United States cannot afford to be lax about its security in a world plagued by episodes of high terrorism and political instability. He examines six scenarios that threaten America's safety and recommends steps to prevent them.
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Timothy Garton Ash,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/17/00
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"The leaders of Western Europe share a direct responsibility for much of what went wrong in the Eastern half of the continent through the 1990s," argues Timothy Garton Ash.
Former French prime minister Alain Juppé asserts that France's reputation for outspoken anti-globalism "no longer matches any reality," but qualifies this assertion, noting that the French define globalization as primarily "cooperation and partnership"--from joining with other countries to fight crime and environmental pollution to collaborating internationally on medical research.
Audio
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Francis Fukuyama,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/06/11
|
How did human beings succeed in creating the ideal of strong, accountable governments that adhere to the rule of law? Francis Fukuyama provides a sweeping account of how today's basic political institutions developed.
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Peter Godwin,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/02/11
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Author and journalist Peter Godwin was born and raised in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). In this gripping talk, he untangles his country's complex and tragic history, and lays out the arc of President Mugabe's brutal career.
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Joseph G. Jabbra,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/02/11
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For generations, American universities have been educating students in the Middle East. President of Lebanese American University Joseph Jabbra makes an impassioned case for the American values that students absorb in these institutions, such as tolerance, philanthropy and service.
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Charles Osgood,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/28/11
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In every sector of American society, civility has declined, according to recent polls--from vicious political rhetoric to attacks in the blogosphere and lack of personal decency. How can the media play a positive role in restoring civility?
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Simon Schama,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/15/11
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Prepare to be challenged and entertained! The inimitable Simon Schama discusses American politics, past and present, and gives an impassioned defense of the importance of "the general welfare"--rather than rugged individualism--at the heart of the American Constitution.
Philosopher A.C. Grayling has created a non-religious Bible that draws from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions. Whatever your beliefs, you will find food for thought in this wise and witty talk.
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Parag Khanna,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/07/11
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We're living in a multi-polar, multi-civilizational world, says Parag Khanna, and the old rules no longer apply. Increasingly, states, international organizations, NGOs, and
corporations must work in partnerships and find ways to strengthen
mutual accountability.
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Richard K. Betts,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/01/11
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After the Cold War, Fukuyama, Huntington, and Mearsheimer each presented a bold vision of what the driving forces of world politics would be. Yet all have proved to be out of step with recent U.S. foreign policy. Is there a fourth vision for the world ahead?
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Lisa Anderson,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/31/11
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As president of the American University of Cairo, Lisa Anderson was a witness to the recent protests in Tahrir Square. In this fascinating talk, she analyzes the upheavals taking place across the Arab world and explains the differences between them.
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Simon Chesterman
|
03/30/11
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The boundaries between public and private are crumbling fast, often with the active or passive consent of those whose privacy is breached. What limits, if any, should be placed on a government's efforts to spy on its citizens in the name of national security?
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
|
03/18/11
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With its mix of militants, nuclear weapons, and chronic domestic unrest, Pakistan's problems have implications for the entire world. Prize-winning author and journalist Ahmed Rashid gives a chilling account of the situation in his homeland.
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Izzeldin Abuelaish,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/14/11
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Born in a Palestinian refugee camp, Dr. Abuelaish has devoted his life to medicine and to reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, even though his three daughters and a niece were killed by Israeli shelling. What drives this extraordinary man?
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Mark Malloch Brown,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/28/11
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Is the world ready to embrace more powerful international institutions and the values needed to underpin a truly globalist agenda—the rule of law, human rights, and opportunity for all?
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Steven Weber,
Bruce W. Jentleson,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/24/11
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Free market capitalism, Western culture, democracy--the ideas that shaped 20th century world politics and underpinned U.S. foreign policy--have lost a good deal of their strength. Authority is now more contested and power more diffused. How should the U.S. meet these challenges?
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.,
Joanne J. Myers
|
02/15/11
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"In the information age, the mark of a great power is not just whose army wins, but also whose story wins," says Joseph Nye. This talk includes his thoughts on China, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, and more.
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Michael Scheuer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/10/11
|
CIA veteran Michael Scheuer believes that the U.S. has consistently underestimated Osama bin Laden; what's more, in terms of al Qaeda and its allies, events in Egypt, Tunisia, and Sudan, and the rumblings in Jordan and Yemen are unalloyed good news.
The challenge of the next decade is not American power, says George Friedman. It is the preservation of the republic through a management of the international system that faces the fact that, intended or not, we're an empire. So long as we refuse to face that, we can't be effective.
Amid the euphoria about the power of the Internet and social media, Morozov sounds a note of caution. He reminds us that these tools can also entrench dictators, threaten dissidents, and make it harder--not easier--to promote democracy.
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Gideon Rose,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/25/11
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Pax Americana is a good thing, declares Gideon Rose. The problem is that even when the U.S. wins militarily, it often botches dealing with war's aftermath because it fails to define its political objectives.
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Barry Eichengreen
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01/14/11
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Barry Eichengreen argues that while the dollar is bound to lose its singular status, the coming changes will be neither sudden nor dire.
As powerful regional forces confront each other over the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, a day of reckoning is inevitable. Will there be a compromise or will the struggle be settled on the battlefield of Lebanon, Syria, Iran, or Israel?
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Thomas de Waal,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/17/10
|
Known as "the lands in between," the Caucasus has long been an arena of great-power contact and conflict. The region is often seen as intractable, yet we should discard misleading cliches such as "ancient hatreds" and "frozen conflicts," says Thomas de Waal.
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Ed Vulliamy,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/09/10
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In a horrific account, Ed Vulliamy describes the ultraviolent, nihilistic, "narco-traficante" culture of the Mexican-American border, a land of drug addicts and cartels.
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Mitchell B. Reiss,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/08/10
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When, how, and under what conditions should governments talk to terrorists? Can opening a dialogue bring conflicts to a faster resolution?
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Simon Winchester,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/15/10
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Master raconteur Simon Winchester tells a series of gripping and little-known tales of the Atlantic, the ocean he calls "the inland sea of modern civilization."
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Robert D. Kaplan
|
11/04/10
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Robert D. Kaplan declares that yhe Indian Ocean area will be the true nexus of world power and conflict in the coming years and it is here that U.S. foreign policy must concentrate if America is to remain dominant in an ever-changing world.
Ian Morris draws on 50,000 years of history, archeology, and the methods of social science, to make sense of when, how, and why the paths of development differed in the East and West--and what this portends for the 21st century.
Amar Bhide takes apart the so-called advances in modern finance, showing how backward-looking, top-down models were used to mass-produce toxic products. He offers tough, simple rules: limit banks and all deposit taking institutions to basic lending and nothing else.
In a striking reinterpretation of the postwar years, Robert Dallek examines
what drove leaders around the globe--Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Mao, de Gaulle, and Truman--to rely on
traditional power politics, and points out the lessons we can draw from their mistakes.
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Kevin Kelly,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/22/10
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In a brand-new view of technology, co-founder of "Wired" magazine Kevin Kelly suggests that it is not just a jumble of wires and metal. He argues that technology is actually a living, evolving organism that has its own unconscious needs and tendencies.
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Allison Stanger,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/20/10
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Allison Stanger shows how contractors became an integral part of U.S. foreign policy, often in scandalous ways, but maintains that the problem is not contractors, but the absence of good government. Outsourcing done right is, in fact, indispensable to U.S. interests today.
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Timothy Garton Ash,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/20/10
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Looking back over the last decade, Timothy Garton Ash catalogues the challenges facing the EU--the economy, a united foreign policy, the integration of Muslims--and concludes that despite its problems the union has taken important steps forward.
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Andrew J. Bacevich,
Joanne J. Myers
|
10/06/10
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It is time to examine the Washington consensus on national security and why it must change, says Professor Bacevich--and to acknowledge that fixing Afghanistan should not take precedence over fixing Detroit.
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Charles Hill,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/01/10
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Reading classical literature teaches us that there are seldom clear answers to real-life dilemmas, says Charles Hill. It gives us the breadth of knowledge to realize that a multitude of factors need to be taken into account.
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Louise Arbour,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/23/10
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Drawing on the International Court's judgment on the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, Arbour examines the pursuit of self-determination in a range of situations, focusing particular attention on the upcoming referendum in Southern Sudan.
More than half of the world's Muslims and Christians live along the tenth parallel in Africa or in Asia. How do these two great intersecting faiths interact?
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Jere Van Dyk,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/28/10
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Journalist and author Jere Van Dyk tells of his decades-long involvement with Afghanistan, and gives a harrowing account of his 2008 kidnapping and imprisonment by the Taliban in the no-man's land between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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Graciana del Castillo
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06/22/10
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After wars end, what steps should countries take to consolidate peace? Graciana del Castillo identifies five premises that are necessary for war economies to transition into sustainable and productive markets.
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Stephen Kinzer,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/11/10
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Stephen Kinzer argues that the United States needs to rethink its alliances in the Middle East and focus on strategic relationships with Iran and Turkey rather than Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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Clyde Prestowitz
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06/04/10
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Clyde Prestowitz argues that the U.S. is rapidly losing the basis of its wealth and power, as well as its freedom of action and independence. If we do not make dramatic changes quickly, we will confront a painful, permanent slide in our standard of living.
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Ian Bremmer,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/28/10
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Ian Bremmer demonstrates the growing challenge that state capitalism will pose for the entire global economy, and what free market nations must do to protect their economies as this new system gains popularity.
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Stephen F. Cohen
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05/22/10
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Washington has squandered the opportunity for a fundamentally new U.S.-Russian relationship after the Cold War, says Stephen Cohen.
Robert Wright's astute analysis uses game theory: a religion that sees itself in a zero-sum relationship with outsiders will prove exclusionist and violent, while a religion that sees itself in a non-zero-sum relationship will adjust its theology accordingly. What does this mean for the future?
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Raghuram G. Rajan
|
05/13/10
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Raghuram Rajan traces the deepening fault lines in a world overly dependent on the indebted U.S. consumer to power global economic growth, and where the U.S. has growing inequality and a thin social safety net. If these flaws are not fixed, we should be prepared for an even more serious financial crisis.
Bernard Lewis is one of the world's foremost Western scholars on Islam. In this eloquent talk he shares some of his knowledge, and explains how the different world views held by Christians and Muslims can lead to misunderstanding.
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Ben Wildavsky,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/07/10
|
Ben Wildavsky shows how international competition for the brightest minds is transforming the world of higher education--and why this revolution should be welcomed, not feared.
What, asks Oxford economist Paul Collier, are realistic and sustainable solutions to correcting the mismanagement of the natural world? Can an international standard be established to resolve the complex issues of unchecked profiteering on the one hand and environmental romanticism on the other?
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Roger E. A. Farmer
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04/29/10
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We need to synthesize the idea that a free-market economy is a self-correcting mechanism and the Keynesian principle that capitalism needs some guidance, says UCLA economist Roger Farmer. The goal is to correct the excesses without stifling entrepreneurship and instituting central planning.
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Derek Bok,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/15/10
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How can governments use the latest research on well-being to improve the quality of life for all their citizens? What role can government policy play in creating individual happiness?
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Charles A. Kupchan,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/09/10
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Diplomatic engagement with rivals, far from being appeasement, is critical to rapprochement between adversaries, says Charles Kupchan, and diplomacy, not economic interdependence, creates the path to peace.
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Steven Solomon,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/06/10
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Everything hinges on water; it is essential to life and to civilization. Will there be enough fresh water for 9 billion of us by 2050? In this talk, journalist Steven Solomon discusses the impending global water crisis.
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Deborah Amos,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/23/10
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1.9 million Sunni Muslims have been forced into exile following the Iraq War, says Deborah Amos. What impact is this having on these people's lives, on Iraq, and on the region's delicate balance of power?
From Russia and China to the U.S. and the U.K., many seemingly dissimilar countries have an "unwritten pact," under which, consciously or not, the population trades some of their democratic rights for better living standards and political stability.
Focusing on Muslims in Europe, Ian Buruma argues that religions (including Islam) and liberal democracies are compatible, despite many peoples' fears. Democracy allows space for religion as long as believers obey their society's laws.
Jack Matlock, American ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991, corrects a number of pervasive myths about the Cold War, including the belief that it ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and that the U.S. effectively won.
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Timothy Ferris,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/23/10
|
Timothy Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, the Enlightenment values it inspired have swelled the number of persons living in free and democratic societies.
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Lee C. Bollinger,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/13/10
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Now that U.S. news outlets can instantaneously disseminate information across the world and foreign media have immediate access to the American market, what does press freedom really mean?
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Joel Kotkin,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/08/10
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How will the enormous projected growth of the U.S. population in the next four decades change the face of America? Will it make the U.S. weaker, or even more diverse and competitive?
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Julian E. Zelizer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/02/10
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According to historian Julian Zelizer, partisan fighting has always shaped American foreign policy, and the issue of national security has always been part of our domestic conflicts.
Garry Wills traces how the atomic bomb transformed our nation down to its deepest constitutional roots, defined the presidency, and redefined the government as a national security state.
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Zachary Karabell,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/29/10
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In a witty and astute talk, Karabell describes and explains what he calls 'superfusion'--how the economies and capital flows of China and the U.S. became inextricably entwined to the point where neither can survive without the other.
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John L. Esposito
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01/28/10
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Is Islam compatible with democracy and human rights? Will religious fundamentalism block the development of modern societies in the Islamic world? Georgetown's John L. Esposito demolishes some common negative stereotypes about Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world.
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George Friedman,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/27/10
|
Elections and campaigns are about options. Governing is about constraints. For Obama--and every president--what happens when foreign policy options meet foreign policy constraints?
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Michael D. Gordin
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01/21/10
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How does a state make a nuclear bomb? How does it hide its weapons program? How do other states detect nuclear proliferation? Michael Gordin addresses important questions about how we think about nuclear weapons past and present.
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Avishai Margalit,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/10/09
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Compromise can be a political virtue, especially for the sake of peace. When is political compromise acceptable, and when is it fundamentally rotten? What if a rotten compromise is politically necessary? Are there moral limits to acceptable compromise, and what are those limits?
The real key to bringing economic and political change to the Muslim world is capitalism, says Vali Nasr. Entrepreneurial middle classes the world over have a stake in the system and are more interested in economic success than religious extremism.
The market's failure was not simply a result of greed, mass myopia, or government failure, says John Cassidy, although these were all contributing factors. "I ultimately see this crisis as a crisis of ideas, and misapplied ideas."
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George Packer,
Joanne J. Myers
|
11/25/09
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George Packer discusses some of his essays from the period of September 11, 2001 to November 4, 2008; the luxury of being able to write long, in-depth articles for "The New Yorker" magazine; and the uncertain future of print journalism.
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Adam Roberts,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/25/09
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Should civil resistance be seen as potentially replacing violence completely, or as a phenomenon that operates in conjunction with, and as a modification of, power politics?
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Michael J. Sandel,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/20/09
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Political philosopher Michael Sandel turns the Council into a classroom. Using questions such as military service, he engages the audience in a lively debate on what individuals owe society.
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Michael Ancram,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/04/09
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In an increasingly interconnected world, soft power and engagement with all the world's players will become increasingly important--and that includes talking to Hamas and the Taliban, says Ancram.
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Caroline Alexander,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/03/09
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The "Iliad" is usually seen as a martial epic glorifying war. Yet in fact, says Alexander, Homer was at pains to depict the Trojan war--and war in general--as a pointless catastrophe that blighted all it touched.
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David L. Bosco,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/27/09
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What has been, is, and should be the role of the UN Security Council? Bosco chronicles its history—its successes and its failures—and concludes with some positive suggestions for the future.
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Carmen M. Reinhart,
Kenneth S. Rogoff
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10/26/09
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Financial crises are not random events, say Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. Looking at the the data on boom and bust cycles that have occurred over the past 800 years, a clear pattern emerges. Why can't we learn from history?
After spending years in the Kingdom talking to people in all walks of life, Robert Lacey gives us a modern history of the Saudis in their own words, revealing a people attempting to reconcile life under religious law with the demands of a rapidly changing world.
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Michael E. O'Hanlon
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10/09/09
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Michael O'Hanlon explains how military modeling and planning are done, taking as examples Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and the decisions to be made now about Afghanistan.
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Daniel Jonah Goldhagen,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/09/09
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Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur, Congo, and more--since World War II, genocide has caused more deaths than all wars put together. Goldhagen analyzes how and why genocides start and proposes steps the international community can take to stop them.
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Amartya Sen,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/05/09
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The traditional theory of social justice is out of touch with practical realities, says Amartya Sen. Instead he proposes a theory of comparative justice that is applicable to the real world.
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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/02/09
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Iran, Iraq, Israel, and North Korea--all are rational players, acting in their own self-interest as they perceive it, and with game theory we can predict what they and other players will do next.
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Peter Maass,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/02/09
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From Ecuador to Nigeria, in most oil-producing countries oil has not brought any benefits to the poor and has often damaged people's health and ruined the environment, says Peter Maass. As for Iraq, although the war was not "all about oil," oil certainly played an important role.
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Alex S. Jones,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/01/09
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"Internet culture values speed over accuracy, edge over fairness and balance, and above all, entertainment value above importance and significance. We can be overfed but undernourished in terms of news, and that's what's happening as newspapers scramble to stay in business."
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Thomas R. Pickering,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/30/09
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How should the United States proceed in its relations with Iran during this turbulent time—and beyond? Should we launch direct, high-level talks between a U.S. envoy and a significant player, or continue on the same course?
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Guy Sorman,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/25/09
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In the 20th century, privatization and market capitalism have reconstructed Eastern Europe and lifted 800 million people out of poverty. What can be understood by this increasing embrace of a "free market" around the globe?
There are no good options in negotiations with North Korea, says Bush's top advisor on North Korean affairs, Victor Cha. It's always a choice between a bad option and a worse option.
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Simon Schama,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/28/09
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In a dazzling display of learning and verbal virtuosity, Simon Schama takes us from Arlington Cemetery to the contrasts between the Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian worldview; to China and Afghanistan; and to many points in between.
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William J. Fallon,
Rory Stewart,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/20/09
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Rebuilding Afghanistan will be a long process, says Stewart, and so our presence there needs to be much lighter. It's inconceivable that for the next 30-40 years we can sustain annual investments of $85 billion and up and maintain 90,000 troops.
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Neil MacFarquhar,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/14/09
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Despite all the bloodshed in its recent history, the Middle East is still a place of warmth, humanity, and generous eccentricity. Within the turmoil there are those still pioneering political and social change. Will they continue wrestling with their region's future--on their own terms?
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Dominique Moisi,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/14/09
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What are the driving emotions behind our cultural differences? How do these varying emotions influence the political, social, and cultural conflicts that roil our world?
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David Kilcullen,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/08/09
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Have U.S. actions in the "war on terror" blurred the distinction between local and global struggles? How can the U.S. develop strategies that deal with global threats, avoid local conflicts where possible, and win them where necessary?
Renowned economist Lord Nicholas Stern estimates that it will cost only about 2 percent of global GDP to control climate change at manageable levels by 2050. But we cannot delay. The cost of inaction is far greater and more perilous.
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Ali A. Allawi,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/30/09
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What caused the decline of Islamic civilization and how can it be revived? Ali A. Allawi lays out key principles that could make it flourish in this age of globalization.
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Randy Charles Epping,
Steven Greenhouse,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/24/09
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How is globalization affecting the economies of developed and developing nations? What should government, business, and labor do to alleviate the global economic crunch?
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Frans Timmermans
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04/09/09
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Dutch Minister for European Affairs Frans Timmermans argues that tolerance and the attitude of "live and let live" is no longer enough. He notes that our goal must be integration, which means increasing the interactiveness between communities.
A fat tail is an event that seems unlikely to occur, but when it does, it causes havoc--like the global financial crisis. What will the next fat tail be? Will it come from Iran? Russia? China? The U.S.?
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John Micklethwait,
Adrian Wooldridge
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04/09/09
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John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge argues that God is back as part of politics. On the street and in the corridors of power, religion is surging worldwide. Can religion and modernity thrive together? What impact will the world's rise of faith have in this century?
In the past 50 years, Africa has received more than $1 trillion in development-related aid. Has it improved Africans' lives? No, says Dambisa Moyo. In fact, aid has made the situation much worse.
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Nandan Nilekani,
Barbara Crossette
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03/27/09
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Journalist Barbara Crossette talks to Indian software entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani about his book, "Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation." Their topics include politics, philanthropy, and India's role in the world.
Nandan Nilekani argues that India's recent economic boom has triggered tremendous social, political, and cultural change. He discusses India's challenges and advantages, such as its current "demographic dividend"--a large population of working age.
It wouldn't take much to rescue those living in extreme poverty, says philosopher Peter Singer. If the top 90 percent of Americans gave at least 1 percent of their income we could reach the Millennium Development Goals.
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Thomas P. M. Barnett
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03/13/09
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The 21st century will see the rise of a global middle class for the first time, which is in the U.S. national interest. Military geostrategist Thomas P. M. Barnett says that although we will have to make compromises, we should work to hasten this globalization process.
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Emile A. Nakhleh,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/06/09
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In an informed assessment of the past, present, and future of America's relations with the Muslim world, the CIA's point person on Islam, Emile A. Nakhleh, makes a vigorous case for a renewal of American public diplomacy.
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Jeffrey D. Sachs
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03/05/09
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Economist Jeffrey Sachs focuses on the financial crisis, both in the U.S. and worldwide. He concludes that we should look at it as a wakeup call that we were not on a sustainable path, and as an opportunity to invest in the future.
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Thomas P. M. Barnett
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03/05/09
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Military geostrategist Thomas P. M. Barnett argues that the 21st century will see the rise of a global middle class for the first time, which is in the U.S. national interest. He says that although we will have to make compromises, we should work to hasten this globalization process.
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Stephen Lewis,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/27/09
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The UN's response to women's issues has been abysmal, declares Lewis, particularly in dealing with HIV/AIDS. In order to give 52 percent of the world's population the representation they deserve, it's time to create a special UN Women's Agency.
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Ann Dismorr,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/26/09
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Ambassador Ann Dismorr examines Turkey's troubled relations with the EU, its role in the Middle East, its complex relationship with the U.S., and the reforms initiated by the Justice and Development Party.
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H.E. Mr. Heraldo Muñoz,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/24/09
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In his first-hand account of the brutal Pinochet years and their aftermath, H.E. Mr. Heraldo Muñoz asks, "The agonizing question is: Was Pinochet necessary? Could Chile have reached its present prosperity without him?"
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Jeffrey D. McCausland,
Thomas E. Ricks
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02/13/09
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Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Jeffrey McCausland talks to Thomas Ricks about his latest book, "The Gamble: General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008."
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Martin Indyk,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/13/09
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What can the mistakes and missed opportunities of the past teach the new Obama administration about how to go forward with the Arab-Israeli peace process?
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Thomas E. Ricks,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/12/09
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Thomas Ricks predicts that the U.S. military presence in Iraq will continue for at least another five to ten years, and that Iraq will change Obama more than Obama will change Iraq.
Science fiction is fast becoming reality on the battlefield and robotics are already changing the way wars are being fought. How will they affect the politics, economics, laws, and ethics of warfare?
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Daniel P. Erikson
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02/03/09
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As Castro finally leaves the stage and a new president arrives in Washington, both the Cuban system and U.S.-Cuba relations could be on the brink of a new era. What will happen next?
George Friedman, founder and CEO of Strategic Forecasting, Inc., asks: What's in store during this new century? Which nations will gain and lose power? How will new technologies change the way we live? He has some predictions that may surprise you.
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Anne-Marie Slaughter
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01/22/09
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Was George W. Bush the true heir of Woodrow Wilson, the architect of liberal internationalism? Was the Iraq War a result of liberal ideas about America's right to promote democracy abroad?
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Gordon M. Goldstein
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01/15/09
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Based on his recently published book "Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam", Gordon Goldstein tells us how important it is for us to understand why and how American presidents take our country to war.
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Robert Hunter,
David C. Speedie
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12/10/08
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The post-Cold War NATO has expanded, both in mission and membership. In each instance, problems have arisen with Russia. What are the lessons to be learned from these stresses, and what are NATO's prospects?
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David Singh Grewal
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12/05/08
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How can we understand the dynamics of globalization? Author David Singh Grewal explains that the idea of network power supplies a coherent set of terms and concepts, which are applicable to individuals, businesses, and countries alike.
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Michael Kinsley,
William Easterly,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/05/08
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Kinsley and Easterly discuss Bill Gates's controversial idea he calls "creative capitalism," in which big corporations integrate doing good into their way of doing business.
The neocons and al-Qaeda have both failed to reach their objectives, says Gilles Kepel. We are now facing one big power in the Middle East: Iran.
Does the symbiotic relationship between China and America--"Chimerica" as Niall Ferguson calls it--give reason to hope that America's present economic situation will turn out to be not a crash, but a correction?
We are harming our children--and almost anyone who creates, enjoys, or sells any art form--with a restrictive copyright system driven by corporate interests. Lessig reveals the solutions to this impasse offered by a collaborative yet profitable "hybrid economy."
For 30 years, the economic condition of most Americans has become ever more precarious. To change this requires a cogent ideology and politics of a managed, rather than laissez-faire, brand of capitalism, says Robert Kuttner.
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Andrew J. Nathan,
Yun-han Chu,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/11/08
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Nathan and Chu report on surveys in five new democracies (Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Mongolia), one established one (Japan), and two nondemocracies (China and Hong Kong).
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Andrew J. Bacevich,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/04/08
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"As the American appetite for freedom has grown, so too has our penchant for empire," writes expert in history and international relations and former U.S. Army Colonel Andrew Bacevich.
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Karl E. Meyer,
Shareen Blair Brysac,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/03/08
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How did the modern Middle East come about? Who were the British and Americans who shaped this region from the 1882 British invasion of Egypt to today's Iraq War?
Ted Widmer shows that from its beginnings, the United States, for all its shortfalls, has been by far the world’s greatest advocate for freedom.
Historian Mark A. Noll argues that the reason Barack Obama's candidacy is such an important matter for the American history of race, religion, and politics goes back to the 1830s. Noll focuses on the political effects of religion intermingling with race from a historical perspective.
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James Traub,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/08/08
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According to James Traub, although Bush bungled his famous Freedom Agenda—that American liberty is dependent on liberty in other lands—the concept still holds true.
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/06/08
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In an era when mistrust of leaders are on the rise, our ideas about leadership are clearly due for redefinition. What qualities make a leader succeed in business or in politics? To what standards should we hold our leaders?
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Michael W. Doyle,
Harold H. Koh,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/26/08
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Is the Bush Doctrine of aggressive preventive action a justified and legal recourse against threats posed by terrorists and rogue states? Does the United States have the right to defend itself by striking first, or must it wait until an attack is in progress?
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Philip Bobbitt,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/19/08
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The world is in the midst of a great transition from nation states to "market states", says Philip Bobbitt, and consequently almost every widely-held idea we currently have about 21st century terrorism is wrong.
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Bing West,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/12/08
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There has been a fundamental disconnect between the Bush Administration and the reality in Iraq, says Bing West, but nevertheless, the U.S. army has managed to turn things around.
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Walter Russell Mead
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09/03/08
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"We are creating new and ever more dangerous problems for ourselves simply by doing what it is that we like to do," says Walter Russell Mead, "And the idea that more capitalism necessarily creates more stability in the world is an illusion...." We must get our foreign policy back on track.
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Francis Fukuyama,
Joanne J. Myers
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08/14/08
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According to Fukuyama in this 2004 talk, we know less than we think we do about building political institutions, designing constitutions, and bolstering civil society in failed or weak states.
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Charles A. Kupchan,
Joanne J. Myers
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08/11/08
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In a 2003 talk, international relations authority Charles Kupchan argues that America ignores Europe at its own peril.
In this 2004 talk, historian James Chace (1931-2004) looks back at the 1912 presidential elections and their effect on U.S. foreign policy.
"To be a moderate in the Arab world today," says Jordanian diplomat Marwan Muasher, "is to be a very, very tiny minority." The reason is that all the Arab Center's energies have been focused on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
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Marshall I. Goldman
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06/09/08
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"'What is good for Gazprom is good for the world!' This emphatic claim by a prominent Russian energy official lies at the core of Marshall Goldman's timely and sobering new study of Moscow's petroleum industry." - Norman M. Naimark, Stanford University
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/05/08
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"Almost every single important extremist leader is living on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan," says Ahmed Rashid. Compared to this threat, Iraq is a sideshow.
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Sir Lawrence Freedman,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/20/08
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Looking back over the last 30 years, historian Sir Lawrence Freedman analyzes the complex politics of the Middle East. He shows how America's policy choices in previous crises have led to the current dilemmas.
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Michael T. Klare
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05/19/08
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Michael Klare, an expert on the politics of energy and resources, discusses how the world's diminishing sources of energy are radically changing the international balance of power.
Kimberly Dozier, a veteran Middle East journalist who was critically wounded in a Baghdad bomb blast, talks about the difficulties of reporting from Iraq. It's dangerous, it's expensive, and people don't want to hear it.
In the West the idea of governance by Sharia law is radioactive, says Noah Feldman, yet for many in the Muslim world it represents their aspirations for rule of law. Can Islamic States succeed?
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Ashraf Ghani,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/30/08
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Drawing on his background at the World Bank and as the first post-Taliban finance minister of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani (and co-author Clare Lockhart) develops a comprehensive framework for understanding the problem of state-building.
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Quil Lawrence,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/24/08
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Quil Lawrence tells the story of the Kurds, the only Iraqi ethnic group that want the Americans to stay. Divided among Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria and numbering 25 million, the Kurds are the largest ethnic group without their own nation.
Americans ask, "Why do they hate us? Is this country pro or anti-American?" But what Khanna finds as he travels the world is that increasingly, many just don't care about the United States. Countries are going their own way and making multiple alliances.
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Guy Sorman,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/13/08
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"There are not six million Tibetans in China," says Sorman. "There are one billion." If the many Chinese who are not beneficiaries of economic development could express themselves, they would say the same things as the Tibetans.
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Paul Krugman,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/08/08
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How can we reclaim the relationship between America's government and its citizens? What will it take to achieve a "new" New Deal?
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H.E. Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland
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04/02/08
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H.E. Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, discusses how Iceland has successfully reduced its use of oil and coal, and how the fate of nations large and small is being affected by climate change.
Bernard Haykel sheds light on the inner workings of Saudi Arabia, from the relationship between the government and various Islamic groups, to the position of women and the Kingdom's relationship with the U.S.
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Cesare P. R. Romano,
Stephen M. Schwebel,
Daniel Terris,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/25/08
|
Who are the judges that sit on the International Court of Justice; what are the issues and challenges they face; and what is their approach to international law?
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Darius Rejali,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/20/08
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In his exhaustive study, Darius Rejali traces the history of torture through the ages. He concludes that most "clean" tortures that leave no marks were actually born in democracies, especially imperial Britain and France.
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Robin Wright,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/18/08
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What are the ideas and movements driving change in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, the Gulf States and the Palestinian territories, and what are the obstacles they confront?
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Jan Egeland,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/12/08
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From the tsunami to Darfur, Jan Egeland has been at the frontline of many humanitarian crises, and he calls on rich nations to do more to help.
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George A. Lopez,
Thomas E. McNamara,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/12/08
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George Lopez gives an overview of effective, multilateral counter-terrorism measures, and as an illustration, Ambassador McNamara analyzes how Libya went from rogue state to member of the Security Council.
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Martin Evans,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/19/08
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Nearly 50 years after its bloody and protracted war of independence, why has Algeria become a breeding ground for instability, violence, and Islamic terrorism?
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Peter Ackerman,
Larry Diamond,
Arch Puddington,
Jennifer L. Windsor,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/12/08
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Freedom House representatives and Larry Diamond discuss the findings of the FH annual survey, "Freedom in the World 2008," which shines a light on the decline in freedom around the world.
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Mokhtar Lamani,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/04/08
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Appointed by the Arab League as Special Envoy to Iraq, Mohktar Lamani spent a year in Baghdad's dangerous Red Zone trying to bring about peace between Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds, and Christians.
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Bill Bradley,
Joanne J. Myers
|
01/23/08
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What will it take to make America a better and stronger country? Politicians need to begin by telling the American people some hard truths, says Bill Bradley.
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Jean-Marie Guehenno,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/18/08
|
The demand for UN peacekeeping troops has risen at an unprecedented rate, says
Guehenno, Under-Secretary General for UN Peacekeeping Operations. This presents
enormous challenges, such as mobilizing troops and resources.
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Alan Wolfe,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/16/08
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In 2000, why did both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party turn inwards, rejecting candidates Bradley and McCain who each represented ideals of national greatness? Wolfe explores American history to find out.
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Paul Collier,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/08/08
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The plight of the bottom billion is often viewed by ordinary citizens in the West as an issue too remote--and too intractable--to be solved. In reality, however, this is far from the truth. What can and should we do to improve the situation?
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Srgjan Kerim,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/03/08
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What are the immediate challenges being addressed by the 62nd Session of the General Assembly? And how can the UN transform shared values into individual commitment and collective action?
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Ahmed Rashid,
Joanne J. Myers
|
12/14/07
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Created as a Muslim state 60 years ago this August, Pakistan is in crisis, wrestling with Draconian laws, the conflict between secularism and Islam, and an increasing terrorist threat. Ahmed Rashid, author of "Taliban," analyses the situation.
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Garrett M. Graff,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/07/07
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The Web has shaken up campaigning, says Garrett Graff. Will candidates seize the moment and run the first campaign of the new era, or will they run the last one all over again?
Levitt discusses the behind-the-scenes work that Treasury is doing to cut off funds for terrorism, with particular focus on Iran.
Diversity, says Shashi Tharoor, is the very essence and strength of India, the world's largest democracy. Rather than a melting pot, it is more like an Indian "thali," with each dish separate but combining in the mouth to make a harmonious whole.
Richard Rhodes says that it's time to finish the work that Reagan and Gorbachev began and get rid of all the nuclear weapons in the world. And led by George Shultz, a group of Reagan-era hawks have a step-by-step proposal on how to do it.
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Walter Russell Mead
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10/31/07
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Walter Russell Mead wittily explains how the individualistic faiths of Britain and America lent themselves so well to the creation of the modern economic and political order.
Does labor abuse and outright slavery still exist in the United States? Yes, says author and journalist John Bowe, who travels from Florida to U.S.-owned Saipan to investigate modern global slave labor.
Garry Wills says that the U.S. separation of church and state both unleashed evangelical feelings and tempered them with reason and rationality. "Putting together the head and the heart is not easy, but we have been most successful as a country when that has happened."
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Robert B. Reich,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/10/07
|
While supercapitalism is working well to enlarge the economy, why, asks Robert
Reich, is its influence making democracy less and less effective?
Hugh Pope discusses the past, present, and future of the Turkic world, which stretches from Central Asia to Turkey. His topics include oil, trade, and the question of Turkey and the EU.
Mark Lilla notes that "it's not contemporary Islam that's the exception", but, "we are the exception. We live on the other shore from those who see political theology as the only way of life, and we need to drop the illusion that we share a common vocabulary."
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D. Michael Lindsay
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09/20/07
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D. Michael Lindsay says that evangelicals have become the new internationalists working at both policy and grassroot levels for more American engagement abroad. How does this affect America and the rest of the world?
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Robert D. Kaplan,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/19/07
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As a nation's economic power increases it naturally steps up its military power, says Kaplan, since it has more interests to protect. So it is not surprising that we are seeing the military rise of
China and to a lesser extent, India. Inevitably, we are moving towards a multipolar world.
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Noah Feldman,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/13/07
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Feldman, a constitutional expert and Arabic-speaker sent to Iraq by the Bush administration, argues that U.S. intervention in Iraq amounts to a moral promise, and unless asked to leave, we are morally bound to stay until a legitimately elected government can govern effectively.
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Philippe Legrain,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/12/07
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It's inevitable that more and more people will move across borders, says Philippe Legrain, and rather than put obstacles in their way, we should welcome them. They do the jobs we can't or won't do and their diversity enriches us all.
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Cass R. Sunstein
|
09/07/07
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The internet offers us unprecedented access to information. Yet it also allows us to block out diverse ideas, selecting only articles and blogs that reinforce our existing opinions. What does this mean for democracy?
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Lt. Gen. Romeo A. Dallaire,
Joanne J. Myers
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08/31/07
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Dallaire recalls the agony of not being able to take action to halt the Rwandan genocide because he lacked the requisite authority as well as manpower and equipment. In essence, he lacked the support of the international community.
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Sebastian Mallaby,
Joanne J. Myers
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08/30/07
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Mallaby says he is somewhat pessimistic about the World Bank's chances of survival, pointing out that its loan portfolio has been declining in response to NGO pressures.
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P. W. Singer,
Joanne J. Myers
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08/27/07
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The ever-growing number of child soldiers across the globe is one of the world's most under-reported stories. "There are an estimated 300,000 child soldiers right now serving as active combatants and another half-million who are serving in armed forces not at war," says Singer.
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Thomas W. Lippman,
Joanne J. Myers
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08/23/07
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Veteran Middle East correspondent Thomas Lippman traces the history of the U.S.-Saudi relationship and discusses its current state post 9/11.
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James Gustave Speth
|
08/16/07
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Environment lawyer James Speth recommends steps towards sustainability ranging from creating a world
environmental organization with the power to make treaties with teeth, to
encouraging innovative measures at the local level--what he calls "green jazz."
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Larry Diamond,
Joanne J. Myers
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08/06/07
|
Soon after a 2005 visit to Iraq, Larry Diamond, a specialist in democracy development, reflects sadly on how we have allowed the situation "to slip into a state of severe insecurity, stalemate, and economic disarray."
Graham Allison, nuclear security expert, gives a sobering assessment on why a nuclear attack on U.S. soil is inevitable unless we take immediate, well-concerted measures.
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Kishore Mahbubani,
Joanne J. Myers
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07/26/07
|
In this 2005 talk, Mahbubani observes that much of the world is disappointed with America's leadership, and yet would like it to take the lead in creating a stable world order. But can America revive the kind of leadership necessary to do this?
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Zbigniew Brzezinski,
Joanne J. Myers
|
07/24/07
|
To prevail in the war on terrorism and other looming geo-strategic crises, says Brzezinski in this 2004 speech, America needs serious allies, not just "coalitions of the willing."
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Jeffrey D. Sachs
|
07/19/07
|
In this 2005 talk, Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the New Millennium Project, proposes ways to end extreme poverty on the entire planet by 2025.
Who is bin Laden? What drives him? Peter Bergen is one of the few Westerners who has interviewed bin Laden face to face. In this November 2001 talk, he gives valuable insights into what makes bin Laden tick.
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Andrew J. Bacevich,
Joanne J. Myers
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07/10/07
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In this 2005 talk, Bacevich argues that military force has increasingly become the preferred instrument of American foreign policy, a process that began not with 9/11, but with the end of the Cold War.
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Major General John D. Altenburg (U.S. Army ret.),
Joanne J. Myers
|
06/20/07
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While military commissions may be a useful policy option in the current war against international terrorism, they cannot negate the most fundamental rights in which Americans believe. Is there a viable solution?
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Norman Pearlstine,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/19/07
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Norman Pearlstine gives the scoop on Time Inc.'s role in the Scooter Libby/Valerie Plame case. He supports creating federal shield laws so that reporters can protect their sources.
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Gregory A. Raymond
|
05/30/07
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Drawing parallels between today's situation in Iraq and the wars of ancient Greece and Persia, Raymond shows how a great power's hubris can lead to its nemesis.
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Michael Oppenheimer
|
05/23/07
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Michael Oppenheimer of Princeton explains climate change and discusses ways to deal with this mounting crisis. A self-described optimist, he believes that we can change our behavior and prevent complete catastrophe.
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Andrew Kohut,
Bruce Stokes,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/15/07
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Once America was considered the champion of democracy, but now we are seen as a militant hyperpower. Why has the world turned against America and what can we do about it?
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Robert Hormats,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/10/07
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Hormats compares the fiscal policies made in previous American wars to those of the current administration and argues that today's decisions place America's future at risk.
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Martha Nussbaum,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/03/07
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"If we really want to understand the impact of religious nationalism on democratic values, India currently provides a troubling example, and one without which any more general understanding of the phenomenon is dangerously incomplete."
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Sari Nusseibeh,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/24/07
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In spite of the hatred and frustration on the surface, Palestinian activist and scholar Sari Nusseibeh optimistically believes that deep down there is readiness on the part of both Israelis and Palestinians to make peace.
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Jill Shankleman,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/12/07
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What do Western oil companies need to do to sustain both profits and peace?
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Ali A. Allawi,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/11/07
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Ali A. Allawi, until recently a senior minister in the Iraqi government, discusses the Iraq crisis. How did it get to this point, and what will be the longterm repercussions on Iraq and the rest of the world?
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Susan L. Shirk,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/05/07
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The more developed and prosperous China becomes, the more threatened its leaders feel. What are the internal issues that create this insecurity?
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T. R. Reid,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/27/07
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T. R. Reid discusses the state of European integration and argues that Americans are not aware of the extent to which the EU has turned into a major global player, especially in trade matters.
With Washington's reputation as a leader on human rights gravely damaged by abuses committed in its five-year-old "global war on terror," who will fill the vacuum?
Over six million Muslims of different backgrounds live in the United States, and for the most part, says Paul Barrett, they are highly assimilated. But in certain areas this group has very different views of the world, and we need to understand their complexity.
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Margaret MacMillan,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/21/07
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How did this momentous meeting between two leaders lay the foundations for the complex and difficult relationship between China and the United States that we see today?
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Simon Chesterman,
James Traub,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/12/07
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What are the political factors and challenges that will shape the new
Secretary-General?
As demand continues to grow, Gernot Erler asks, can Europe persuade Russia to guarantee its future energy needs?
Edward Luce argues that despite problems such as poverty and corruption, India is undergoing an extraordinary transformation, emerging as an economic powerhouse and an important geopolitical force.
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General Sir Rupert Smith,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/24/07
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Why do we use military force to solve our political problems? And how is it that our armies can win battles but fail to solve these problems?
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Michael B. Oren,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/18/07
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What are the roots of America's Middle East involvement today? And what impact did American statesmen, merchants, and missionaries have on the shaping of this region?
Coordinating global financial policy in the age of terror requires skill,
leadership, and cooperation. What steps did the U.S. government take to
freeze terrorist assets worldwide, plan the financial reconstruction of
Afghanistan, and oversee the development of a new currency in Iraq?
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Joseph Cirincione
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12/05/06
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Joseph Cirincione talks on the threat of nuclear proliferation, which is one of the major challenges we face today. How can we in the United States respond most efficiently, without compromising our values and vital interests?
Ian Buruma explores what happens when political Islam collides with a secular Western European nation.
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Yoram Peri,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/16/06
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In Israel's political system, the military was once the servant of civilian politicians. Today, however, Yoram Peri argues, generals lead the way when it comes to foreign and defense policymaking.
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James Traub,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/15/06
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Why was Kofi Annan's tenure at the UN so controversial? Listen to James Traub's analysis of the troubled relationship between the UN and the world's only superpower.
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Ethan B. Kapstein
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11/01/06
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In a lively session, Ethan Kapstein of INSEAD proposes just what the international community can reasonably do to build a global economy that will be fairer to all.
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Ronald Dworkin,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/31/06
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Professor Dworkin identifies core moral principles that he believes Americans share across the "red/blue divide, which should serve as the basis for substantial political argument. For without rational discourse, he says, there can be no true democracy.
Vali Nasr argues that the Shia Crescent—stretching from Lebanon and Syria through the Gulf to Iraq and Iran, finally terminating in Pakistan and India—is gathering strength in the aftermath of Saddam's fall.
Professor Philip Jenkins argues that by the year 2025, Africa and Latin America will have the largest number of Christians in the world. According to Jenkins, this is a different kind of Christianity from that which we are used to in the Global North.
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Joseph E. Stiglitz
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10/05/06
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Economist Joseph Stiglitz offers new thinking about the questions that shape the globalization debate, including a plan to restructure the global financial system, ideas for how countries can grow without degrading the environment, and a framework for free and fair global trade.
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Niall Ferguson,
Joanne J. Myers
|
09/26/06
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The twentieth century was by far the bloodiest in all of human history. How can we explain the astonishing scale and intensity of its violence when, thanks to the advances of science and economics, most people were better off than ever before—eating better, growing taller, and living longer?
Senator John Danforth argues that religious people should engage in politics, but, he notes, "there is a difference between engaging in politics and transforming politics and government into an extension or an enforcer of your religious point of view."
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Josef Joffe,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/15/06
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Josef Joffe assesses the rise of American power since the end of the Cold War from a remarkably sympathetic vantage point.
Ian Bremmer describes the political and economic forces that revitalize some states and push others toward collapse. He concludes that political isolation and sanctions often work against their intended results and that globalization is the key to opening closed authoritarian states.
"Khan has wreaked havoc on attempts to restrain the spread of nuclear
technology," says Gordon Corera. "He has lowered the barriers of entry for the nuclear
game. He has irreversibly changed the mechanics of supply and demand, and left a
really damaging legacy."
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Charlayne Hunter-Gault,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/21/06
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Journalist (and South Africa resident) Hunter-Gault gives a surprisingly optimistic assessment of modern Africa, revealing that there is more to the continent than the bad news of disease, disaster, and despair.
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Shashi Tharoor,
Ruth Wedgwood,
James Traub,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/12/06
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Is the UN "I" for irrelevant, or "I" for indispensable, as Shashi Tharoor would have it? While conceding that the UN is relevant, Ruth Wedgwood argues that "competing multilaterals" should also play a role in solving the world's problems. This witty but always deeply serious debate will give both sides of the argument food for thought.
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Jan Eliasson,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/07/06
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H.E. Mr. Jan Eliasson discusses recent steps forward, such as the creating of the Peacebuilding Commission, the Central Emergency Fund, and the Human Rights Council.
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Ahmed S. Hashim,
Joanne J. Myers
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06/06/06
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In one of the most detailed analyses yet of the insurgency and America's efforts to squash it, Ahmed Hashim presents a grim view of the violence in Iraq from inside the American camp.
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Vali Nasr,
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo
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05/17/06
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Iranian human rights advocate Fatemeh Haghighatjoo says that Iranian political parties and individuals critical of their government’s handling of the nuclear issue " have joined the debate [and] believe that the ultimate pressure that can change Iran’s nuclear policy will come from within, not from without."
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Charles S. Shapiro,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/10/06
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"Those who feel left behind—the poor, the indigenous, isolated rural communities—are easily attracted by radical populists who offer simple solutions to complex problems," says the Honorable Charles S. Shapiro. His talk focuses on prescriptions for economic growth, yet the audience’s questions are mainly about the rise of "leftist" politicians across Latin America.
In order to understand the Arab mistrust of the United States and of the West in general, says Milton Viorst, we must study the turbulent history of the relations between the Christian and Muslim world, particularly the clashes and betrayals since World War I.
Conflict and violence are sustained by the illusion of a unique identity, overlooking the need for reason and choice in deciding on bonds of class, gender, profession, scientific interests, moral beliefs, and even our shared identity as human beings.
In a wide-ranging talk, Professor Philip Jenkins argues that the mid-to-late 1970s were a crucial turning point in religious and political landscapes around the world.
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Wole Soyinka,
Joanne J. Myers
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04/17/06
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Nobel Prize-winning author and activist Wole Soyinka discusses the current crisis in Nigeria as President Obasanjo tries to subvert the constitution to give himself a third term, and also calls for immediate UN intervention in Darfur.
Based on her interviews with over 300 Muslim leaders in Europe, Jytte Klausen argues that European Muslims are overwhelmingly liberal in outlook. She says that for Muslims in Europe the biggest priority is to build a European Islam, independent of the Islamic countries.
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Joseph E. Stiglitz
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04/03/06
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Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz details what a trade agreement might look like if based on principles of economic analysis and social justice for the world economy. He points to how less developed countries are currently disadvantaged in the negotiating process.
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Olivier Roy,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/30/06
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Roy looks at how Islam is becoming a globalized religion, less linked to culture than many in the West presume. This shift in identity is important to understand if governments are to be effective and just in setting immigration and integration policies, and in combatting terrorists.
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Stephen Lewis,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/28/06
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Lewis offers his personal, often searing, insider's account of the plight of Africa and Africans with AIDS - and the wealthy world's betrayal.
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Gershom Gorenberg,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/20/06
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Gershom Gorenberg discusses the history of the Israeli settlements and examines the roadblocks that continue to frustrate the establishment of peaceful relations with the Palestinians.
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Barnett Rubin,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/14/06
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Recent elections mark the last formal step towards democracy in Afghanistan. Yet the past year has seen a steady increase in political violence. What is being done to ensure that democracy and stability take hold?
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Michael J. Sandel
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03/08/06
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Professor Michael Sandel argues that there is an allergy among liberals to using substantive moral, and even religious arguments in politics. Yet, he notes, "it's often not possible, and in any case not desirable, to separate political argument from moral and religious argument."
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Gary Hart,
Joanne J. Myers
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03/03/06
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Gary Hart outlines the fundamental changes that America must grapple with
when confronting elusive terrorist threats. The new security regime will require
a shield for the homeland as well as a cloak of non-military protections.
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Michael Walzer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/28/06
|
For the first time since his classic "Just and Unjust Wars" was published almost three decades ago, Professor Michael Walzer has again collected his most provocative arguments about contemporary military conflicts and the ethical issues they raise.
Steven Waldman, founder of the website beliefnet.com, presents some surprising conclusions about how beliefs affect voting in the United States.
According to Chris Patten, Europe wants to be a partner to the United States rather than a rival. Meanwhile, America and Europe both need to recognize that they no longer set the global agenda, and that they must work with and through China and India.
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Bernard-Henri Lévy,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/27/06
|
In his entertaining and sometimes provocative book, celebrated French intellectual Bernard-Henri Lévy takes a fascinating new look at the country that Americans think they know, investigating issues at the heart of U.S. democracy.
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Richard N. Gardner,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/19/06
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Former U.S. Ambassador Richard N. Gardner discusses the delicate balancing act of diplomacy, politics and practicality in Cold War Italy.
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Sir Emyr Jones Parry,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/12/06
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The United Kingdom's ambassador to the United Nations describes the positive rethinking of development policy that occurred in 2005 and the need to make 2006 the year for action. He touches on the issues of aid, trade, UN reform, harmonization among donor organizations, and the struggle against corruption.
Author John Allen debunks some of the myths that surround Opus Dei, the prelature of the Roman Catholic Church that promotes the sanctity of ordinary daily work. Allen also explains Opus Dei's history, goals, and practices.
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P. W. Singer,
Joanne J. Myers
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12/01/05
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P. W. Singer examines the Pentagon's policy of contracting private security and logistics firms for tasks ranging from combat to catering in the Iraq War. What are the ethical dilemmas and conflicting incentives of outsourcing a traditional state function to essentially mercenary groups?
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Philip J. Hilts,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/29/05
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Hilts warns that the emergence of new diseases and the resurgence of old ones has put the world on the brink of a global health crisis. Yet we have more than enough technology and funds to bring about a golden age of public health. What's the missing element?
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Otto Schily,
Joanne J. Myers
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11/21/05
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Germany's Federal Minister of the Interior Otto Schily addresses the problems of integrating immigrants into German society and talks about the progress made, which includes overhauling the Nationality Act for the first time since 1913 and introducing integration courses for new arrivals.
Moises Naim explains that the counterfeit trade is worth 630 billion dollars a year, including fake airplane parts, medicines and even gas stations, and growth in trading people, arms and drugs is equally staggering.
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Benjamin M. Friedman
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10/27/05
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Political economist Benjamin Friedman argues that economic growth is a prerequisite for a liberal, open society. He contends that it encourages tolerance, democracy and generous public support for the poor, while economic stagnation and insecurity result in the very opposite.
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Kurt Campbell,
Joanne J. Myers
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10/19/05
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American attention is focused on the "war on terror. " But 20 years from now we may look back and realise that the rise of China and the new Asian dynamics that resulted were actually far more significant, says Kurt Campbell.
Princeton Professor Robert Wuthnow asks whether we are willing to do the hard work required to achieve genuine religious diversity and understanding.
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J. Douglas Beason
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10/06/05
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"Directed-energy weapons"—lasers, high-powered microwaves, and particle beams—used to be the stuff of science fiction, says J. Douglas Beason. But now they're a reality, and will transform the nature of warfare.
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Robert D. Kaplan,
Joanne J. Myers
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09/27/05
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Robert D. Kaplan provides an insider's account of our current involvement in world affairs, as well as painting a vivid picture of how defense policy is implemented at the grassroots level.
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Elisabeth Sifton
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09/20/05
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Elisabeth Sifton, Reinhold Niebuhr's daughter, reviews her father's legacy and concludes that many of today's Christian leaders are ignoring the radical truths he espoused.
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Andrew Kuper,
Peter Singer
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09/19/05
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Who has the responsibility to alleviate poverty and uphold human rights in a globalized world where corporations often wield more power than nation-states?
George Weigel ponders the growing--and to him acutely disturbing--secularity of Europe, which he believes raises urgent questions about the future of democracy worldwide.
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Clyde Prestowitz
|
06/01/05
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Economist Clyde Prestowitz believes that the United States is sliding toward economic decline under globalization, arguing that these trends are creating not only increased economic strength in Asia, but also geopolitical power.
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Admiral John Hutson,
Michael Posner,
Joanne J. Myers
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05/03/05
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The abuses at Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, and elsewhere, have undermined our standing around the world, say Hutson and Posner.
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Thomas L. Friedman
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04/06/05
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Globalization, particularly outsourcing, is leveling the playing field around the world, says columnist Thomas Friedman, making India a major player.
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Kenneth Roth,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/03/05
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Kenneth Roth, Executive Director of Human Rights Watch, discusses the three main challenges that the international human rights movement faces today.
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Jagdish Bhagwati
|
10/28/04
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While a leading free trade proponent, professor Jagdish Bhagwati does not advocate total laissez-faire economics; rather, that continued globalization needs to be "managed."
Video
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Francis Fukuyama
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12/08/11
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How did human beings succeed in creating the ideal of strong, accountable governments that adhere to the rule of law? Francis Fukuyama provides a sweeping account of how today's basic political institutions developed.
With its mix of militants, nuclear weapons, and chronic domestic unrest, Pakistan's problems have implications for the entire world. Prize-winning author and journalist Ahmed Rashid gives a chilling account of the situation in his homeland.
Philosopher A.C. Grayling has created a non-religious Bible that draws from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions. Whatever your beliefs, you will find food for thought in this wise and witty talk.
Author and journalist Peter Godwin was born and raised in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia). In this gripping talk he untangles his country's complex and tragic history, and shows us the arc of President Mugabe's brutal career.
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Izzeldin Abuelaish
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12/06/11
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Born in a Palestinian refugee camp, Dr. Abuelaish has devoted his life to medicine and to reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, even though his three daughters and a niece were killed by Israeli shelling. What drives this extraordinary man?
George Friedman, founder and CEO of Strategic Forecasting, Inc., asks: What's in store during this new century? Which nations will gain and lose power? How will new technologies change the way we live? He has some predictions that may surprise you.
Robert Wright's astute analysis uses game theory: a religion that sees itself in a zero-sum relationship with outsiders will prove exclusionist and violent, while a religion that sees itself in a non-zero-sum relationship will adjust its theology accordingly. What does this mean for the future?
In every sector of American society, civility has declined, according to recent polls--from vicious political rhetoric to attacks in the blogosphere and lack of personal decency. How can the media play a positive role in restoring civility?
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Joseph G. Jabbra
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07/13/11
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For generations, American universities have been educating students in the Middle East. President of Lebanese American University Joseph Jabbra makes an impassioned case for the American values that students absorb in these institutions, such as tolerance, philanthropy and service.
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Richard K. Betts
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07/06/11
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After the Cold War, Fukuyama, Huntington, and Mearsheimer each presented a bold vision of what the driving forces of world politics would be. Yet all have proved to be out of step with recent U.S. foreign policy. Is there a fourth vision for the world ahead?
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Simon Chesterman
|
06/29/11
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The boundaries between public and private are crumbling fast, often with the active or passive consent of those whose privacy is breached. What limits, if any, should be placed on a government's efforts to spy on its citizens in the name of national security?
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Steven Weber,
Bruce W. Jentleson
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06/22/11
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Free market capitalism, Western culture, democracy—the ideas that shaped 20th century world politics and underpinned U.S. foreign policy—have lost a good deal of their strength. Authority is now more contested and power more diffused. How should the U.S. meet these challenges?
Pax Americana is a good thing, declares Gideon Rose. The problem is that even when the U.S. wins militarily, it often botches dealing with war's aftermath because it fails to define its political objectives.
Amid the euphoria about the power of the Internet and social media, Morozov sounds a note of caution. He reminds us that these tools can also entrench dictators, threaten dissidents, and make it harder--not easier--to promote democracy.
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Mark Malloch Brown
|
06/01/11
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Is the world ready to embrace more powerful international institutions and the values needed to underpin a truly globalist agenda—the rule of law, human rights, and opportunity for all?
We're living in a multi-polar, multi-civilizational world, says Parag Khanna, and the old rules no longer apply. Increasingly, states, international organizations, NGOs, and
corporations must work in partnerships and find ways to strengthen
mutual accountability.
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
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05/18/11
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"In the information age, the mark of a great power is not just whose army wins, but also whose story wins," says Joseph Nye. This talk includes his thoughts on China, Egypt, Afghanistan, Iran, and more.
Elections and campaigns are about options. Governing is about constraints. For Obama--and every president--what happens when foreign policy options meet foreign policy constraints?
The challenge of the next decade is not American power, says George Friedman. It is the preservation of the republic through a management of the international system that faces the fact that, intended or not, we're an empire. So long as we refuse to face that, we can't be effective.
As powerful regional forces confront each other over the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafik Hariri, a day of reckoning is inevitable. Will there be a compromise or will the struggle be settled on the battlefield of Lebanon, Syria, Iran, or Israel?
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Mitchell B. Reiss
|
04/20/11
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When, how, and under what conditions should governments talk to terrorists? Can opening a dialogue bring conflicts to a faster resolution?
Prepare to be challenged and entertained! The inimitable Simon Schama discusses American politics, past and present, and gives an impassioned defense of the importance of "the general welfare"--rather than rugged individualism--at the heart of the American Constitution.
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Robert D. Kaplan
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04/06/11
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Robert D. Kaplan declares that the Indian Ocean area will be the true nexus of world power and conflict in the coming years and it is here that U.S. foreign policy must concentrate if America is to remain dominant in an ever-changing world.
In a striking reinterpretation of the postwar years, Robert Dallek examines what drove leaders around the globe--Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, Mao, de Gaulle, and Truman--to rely on traditional power politics, and points out the lessons we can draw from their mistakes.
As president of the American University of Cairo, Lisa Anderson was a witness to the recent protests in Tahrir Square. In this fascinating talk, she analyzes the upheavals taking place across the Arab world and explains the differences between them.
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Timothy Garton Ash
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03/22/11
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Looking back over the last decade, Timothy Garton Ash catalogues the challenges facing the EU--the economy, a united foreign policy, the integration of Muslims--and concludes that despite its problems the union has taken important steps forward.
How can governments use the latest research on well-being to improve the quality of life for all their citizens? What role can government policy play in creating individual happiness?
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Roger E. A. Farmer
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02/23/11
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We need to synthesize the idea that a free-market economy self-corrects and the Keynesian principle that capitalism needs some guidance, says economist Roger Farmer. The goal is to correct the excesses without stifling entrepreneurship and instituting central planning.
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Barry Eichengreen
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02/09/11
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Barry Eichengreen argues that while the dollar is bound to lose its singular status, the coming changes will be neither sudden nor dire.
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Michael Scheuer,
Joanne J. Myers
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02/08/11
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CIA veteran Michael Scheuer believes that the U.S. has consistently underestimated Osama bin Laden; what's more, in terms of al Qaeda and its allies, events in Egypt, Tunisia, and Sudan, and the rumblings in Jordan and Yemen are unalloyed good news.
In a horrific account, Ed Vulliamy describes the ultraviolent, nihilistic "narco-traficante" culture of the Mexican-American border, a land of drug addicts and cartels.
Michael Korda reveals the extraordinary man behind the myth of Lawrence of Arabia. He discusses T. E. Lawrence's contradictory nature, a born leader who was utterly fearless but remained shy and modest; and a scholar who also invented guerrilla warfare.
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Simon Winchester
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01/12/11
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Master raconteur Simon Winchester tells a series of gripping and little-known tales of the Atlantic, the ocean he calls "the inland sea of modern civilization."
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Andrew J. Bacevich,
Joanne J. Myers
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01/05/11
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It is the time to examine the Washington consensus on national security and why it must change, says Professor Bacevich--and to acknowledge that fixing Afghanistan should not take precedence over fixing Detroit.
Known as "the lands in between," the Caucasus has long been an arena of great-power contact and conflict. The region is often seen as intractable, yet we should discard misleading cliches such as "ancient hatreds" and "frozen conflicts," says Thomas de Waal.
In a brand-new view of technology, co-founder of Wired magazine Kevin Kelly suggests that it is not just a jumble of wires and metal. He argues that technology is actually a living, evolving organism that has its own unconscious needs and tendencies.
More than half of the world's Muslims and Christians live along the tenth parallel in Africa or in Asia. How do these two great intersecting faiths interact?
Allison Stanger shows how contractors became an integral part of U.S. foreign policy, often in scandalous ways, but maintains that the problem is not contractors, but the absence of good government. Outsourcing done right is, in fact, indispensable to U.S. interests today.
Ian Morris draws on 50,000 years of history, archeology, and the methods of social science, to make sense of when, how, and why the paths of development differed in the East and West--and what this portends for the 21st century.
Journalist and author Jere Van Dyk tells of his decades-long involvement with Afghanistan, and gives a harrowing account of his 2008 kidnapping and imprisonment by the Taliban in the no-man's land between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Amar Bhide takes apart the so-called advances in modern finance, showing how backward-looking, top-down models were used to mass-produce toxic products. He offers tough, simple rules: limit banks and all deposit taking institutions to basic lending and nothing else.
Reading classical literature teaches us that there are seldom clear answers to real-life dilemmas, says Charles Hill. It gives us the breadth of knowledge to realize that a multitude of factors need to be taken into account.
Drawing on the International Court's judgment on the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence, Arbour examines the pursuit of self-determination in a range of situations, focusing particular attention on the upcoming referendum in Southern Sudan.
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Clyde Prestowitz
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09/22/10
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Clyde Prestowitz argues that the U.S. is rapidly losing the basis of its wealth and power, as well as its freedom of action and independence. If we do not make dramatic changes quickly, we will confront a painful, permanent slide in our standard of living.
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Graciana del Castillo
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09/15/10
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After wars end, what steps should countries take to consolidate peace? Graciana del Castillo identifies five premises that are necessary for war economies to transition into sustainable and productive markets.
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Raghuram G. Rajan
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09/01/10
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Raghuram Rajan traces the deepening fault lines in a world overly dependent on the indebted U.S. consumer to power global economic growth, and where the U.S. has growing inequality and a thin social safety net. If these flaws are not fixed, we should be prepared for an even more serious financial crisis.
Stephen Kinzer argues that the United States needs to rethink its alliances in the Middle East and focus on strategic relationships with Iran and Turkey rather than Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Everything hinges on water; it is essential to life and to civilization. Will there be enough fresh water for 9 billion of us by 2050? In this talk, journalist Steven Solomon discusses the impending global water crisis.
What has been, is, and should be the role of the UN Security Council? Bosco chronicles its history--its successes and its failures--and concludes with some positive suggestions for the future.
Garry Wills traces how the atomic bomb transformed our nation down to its deepest constitutional roots, defined the presidency, and redefined the government as a national security state.
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Stephen F. Cohen
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07/14/10
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Washington has squandered the opportunity for a fundamentally new U.S.-Russian relationship after the Cold War, says Stephen Cohen.
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Zachary Karabell
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07/07/10
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In a witty and astute talk, Zachary Karabell describes and explains what he calls 'superfusion'--how the economies and capital flows of China and the U.S. became inextricably entwined to the point where neither can survive without the other.
What, asks Oxford economist Paul Collier, are realistic and sustainable solutions to correcting the mismanagement of the natural world? Can an international standard be established to resolve the complex issues of unchecked profiteering on the one hand and environmental romanticism on the other?
Bernard Lewis is one of the world's foremost Western scholars on Islam. In this eloquent talk he shares some of his knowledge, and explains how the different world views held by Christians and Muslims can lead to misunderstanding.
Ian Bremmer demonstrates the growing challenge that state capitalism will pose for the entire global economy, and what free market nations must do to protect their economies as this new system gains popularity.
1.9 million Sunni Muslims have been forced into exile following the Iraq War, says Deborah Amos. What impact is this having on these people's lives, on Iraq, and on the region's delicate balance of power?
George Packer discusses some of his essays from the period of September 11, 2001 to November 4, 2008; the luxury of being able to write long, in-depth articles for "The New Yorker" magazine; and the uncertain future of print journalism.
Ben Wildavsky shows how international competition for the brightest minds is transforming the world of higher education—and why this revolution should be welcomed, not feared.
From Russia and China to the U.S. and the U.K., many seemingly dissimilar countries have an "unwritten pact," under which, consciously or not, the population trades some of their democratic rights for better living standards and political stability.
Focusing on Muslims in Europe, Ian Buruma argues that religions (including Islam) and liberal democracies are compatible, despite many peoples' fears. Democracy allows space for religion as long as believers obey their society's laws.
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Charles A. Kupchan
|
04/08/10
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Diplomatic engagement with rivals, far from being appeasement, is critical to rapprochement between adversaries, says Charles Kupchan, and diplomacy, not economic interdependence, creates the path to peace.
The real key to bringing economic and political change to the Muslim world is capitalism, says Vali Nasr. Entrepreneurial middle classes the world over have a stake in the system and are more interested in economic success than religious extremism.
Jack Matlock, American ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1987 to 1991, corrects a number of pervasive myths about the Cold War, including the belief that it ended with the fall of the Soviet Union and that the U.S. effectively won.
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Lee C. Bollinger
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03/03/10
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Now that U.S. news outlets can instantaneously disseminate information across the world and foreign media have immediate access to the American market, what does press freedom really mean?
Timothy Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, the Enlightenment values it inspired have swelled the number of persons living in free and democratic societies.
How will the enormous projected growth of the U.S. population in the next four decades change the face of America? Will it make the U.S. weaker, or even more diverse and competitive?
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Julian E. Zelizer
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02/10/10
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According to historian Julian Zelizer, partisan fighting has always shaped American foreign policy, and the issue of national security has always been part of our domestic conflicts.
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Michael D. Gordin
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02/03/10
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How does a state make a nuclear bomb? How does it hide its weapons program? How do other states detect nuclear proliferation? Michael Gordin addresses important questions about how we think about nuclear weapons past and present.
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John L. Esposito
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01/27/10
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Is Islam compatible with democracy and human rights? Will religious fundamentalism block the development of modern societies in the Islamic world? Georgetown's John L. Esposito demolishes some common negative stereotypes about Islam, the fastest growing religion in the world.
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Daniel Jonah Goldhagen
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01/20/10
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Rwanda, Bosnia, Cambodia, Darfur, Congo, and more--since World War II, genocide has caused more deaths than all wars put together. Goldhagen analyzes how and why genocides start and proposes steps the international community can take to stop them.
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Michael E. O'Hanlon
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01/13/10
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Michael O'Hanlon explains how military modeling and planning are done, taking as examples Desert Storm, the Iraq War, and the decisions to be made now about Afghanistan.
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Avishai Margalit
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01/06/10
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Compromise can be a political virtue, especially for the sake of peace. When is political compromise acceptable, and when is it fundamentally rotten? What if a rotten compromise is politically necessary? Are there moral limits to acceptable compromise, and what are those limits?
The market's failure was not simply a result of greed, mass myopia, or government failure, says John Cassidy, although these were all contributing factors. "I ultimately see this crisis as a crisis of ideas, and misapplied ideas."
Should civil resistance be seen as potentially replacing violence completely, or as a phenomenon that operates in conjunction with, and as a modification of, power politics?
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Caroline Alexander
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11/18/09
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The "Iliad" is usually seen as a martial epic glorifying war. Yet in fact, says Alexander, Homer was at pains to depict the Trojan war--and war in general--as a pointless catastrophe that blighted all it touched.
In an increasingly interconnected world, soft power and engagement with all the world's players will become increasingly important--and that includes talking to Hamas and the Taliban, says Ancram.
After spending years in the Kingdom talking to people in all walks of life, Robert Lacey gives us a modern history of the Saudis in their own words, revealing a people attempting to reconcile life under religious law with the demands of a rapidly changing world.
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Bruce Bueno de Mesquita
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10/15/09
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Iran, Iraq, Israel, and North Korea--all are rational players, acting in their own self-interest as they perceive it, and with game theory we can predict what they and other players will do next.
From Ecuador to Nigeria, in most oil-producing countries oil has not brought any benefits to the poor and has often damaged people's health and ruined the environment, says Peter Maass. As for Iraq, although the war was not "all about oil," oil certainly played an important role.
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Carmen M. Reinhart,
Kenneth S. Rogoff
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10/07/09
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Financial crises are not random events, say Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff. Looking at the the data on boom and bust cycles that have occurred over the past 800 years, a clear pattern emerges. Why can't we learn from history?
The traditional theory of social justice is out of touch with practical realities, says Amartya Sen. Instead he proposes a theory of comparative justice that is applicable to the real world.
"Internet culture values speed over accuracy, edge over fairness and balance, and above all, entertainment value above importance and significance. We can be overfed but undernourished in terms of news, and that's what's happening as newspapers scramble to stay in business."
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Thomas R. Pickering
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09/23/09
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How should the United States proceed in its relations with Iran during this turbulent time—and beyond? Should we launch direct, high-level talks between a U.S. envoy and a significant player, or continue on the same course?
In the West the idea of governance by Sharia law is radioactive, says Noah Feldman, yet for many in the Muslim world it represents their aspirations for rule of law. Can Islamic States succeed?
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Kishore Mahbubani
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09/02/09
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Kishore Mahbubani argues that the Western dominance is waning and Asia has adopted many Western best practices, from meritocracy to free-market economics. Therefore it's high time that the West gives up its domination of global institutions, from the IMF to the UN Security Council.
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H.E. Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland
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08/19/09
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H.E. Dr. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, President of Iceland, discusses how Iceland has successfully reduced its use of oil and coal, and how the fate of nations large and small is being affected by climate change.
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Daniel P. Erikson
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08/05/09
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With the exit of Castro and the entrance of Obama, both the Cuban system and U.S.-Cuba relations could be on the brink of a new era. What will happen next?
There are no good options in negotiations with North Korea, says Bush's top advisor on North Korean affairs, Victor Cha. It's always a choice between a bad option and a worse one.
Nandan Nilekani argues that India's recent economic boom has triggered tremendous social, political, and cultural change. He discusses India's challenges and advantages, such as its current "demographic dividend"--a large population of working age.
In the 20th century, privatization and market capitalism have reconstructed Eastern Europe and lifted 800 million people out of poverty in China, India, and Brazil, says Guy Sorman.
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Jeffrey D. McCausland,
Thomas E. Ricks
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06/24/09
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Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Jeffrey McCausland talks to Thomas Ricks about his latest book, "The Gamble: General Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006-2008."
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Jeffrey D. Sachs
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06/10/09
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Economist Jeffrey Sachs focuses on the financial crisis, both in the U.S. and worldwide. He concludes that we should look at it as a wakeup call that we were not on a sustainable path, and as an opportunity to invest in the future.
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Joseph S. Nye, Jr.
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05/27/09
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What qualities make a leader succeed in business or in politics? Joseph Nye contends that modern leadership requires "smart power," which is a judicious situational balance of hard power and soft power.
In a dazzling display of learning and verbal virtuosity, Simon Schama takes us from Arlington Cemetery to the contrasts between the Jeffersonian and Hamiltonian worldview; to China and Afghanistan; and to many points in between.
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William J. Fallon,
Rory Stewart
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05/19/09
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Rebuilding Afghanistan will be a long process, says Stewart, and so our presence there needs to be much lighter. It's inconceivable that for the next 30-40 years we can sustain annual investments of $85 billion and up and maintain 90,000 troops.
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Anne-Marie Slaughter
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05/14/09
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Was George W. Bush the true heir of Woodrow Wilson, the architect of liberal internationalism? Was the Iraq War a result of liberal ideas about America's right to promote democracy abroad?
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Neil MacFarquhar
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05/12/09
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Despite all the bloodshed in its recent history, the Middle East is still a place of warmth, humanity, and generous eccentricity. Within the turmoil there are those still pioneering political and social change. Will they continue wrestling with their region's future—on their own terms?
What are the driving emotions behind our cultural differences? How do these varying emotions influence the political, social, and cultural conflicts that roil our world?
Have U.S. actions in the "war on terror" blurred the distinction between local and global struggles? How can the U.S. develop strategies that deal with global threats, avoid local conflicts where possible, and win them where necessary?
Renowned economist Lord Nicholas Stern estimates that it will cost only about 2 percent of global GDP to control climate change at manageable levels by 2050. But we cannot delay. The cost of inaction is far greater and more perilous.
What caused the decline of Islamic civilization and how can it be revived? Ali A. Allawi, former government official in post-war Iraq, lays out key principles that could make it flourish in this age of globalization.
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Randy Charles Epping,
Steven Greenhouse
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04/22/09
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How is globalization affecting the economies of developed and developing nations? What should government, business, and labor do to alleviate the global economic crunch?
Does the symbiotic relationship between China and America--"Chimerica" as Niall Ferguson calls it--give reason to hope that America's present economic situation will turn out to be not a crash, but a correction?
A fat tail is an event that seems unlikely to occur, but when it does, it causes havoc--like the global financial crisis. What will the next fat tail be? Will it come from Iran? Russia? China? The U.S.?
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John Micklethwait,
Adrian Wooldridge
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04/06/09
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John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge argues that God is back as part of politics. On the street and in the corridors of power, religion is surging worldwide. Can religion and modernity thrive together? What impact will the world's rise of faith have in this century?
In the past 50 years, Africa has received more than $1 trillion in development-related aid. Has it improved Africans' lives? No, says Dambisa Moyo. In fact, aid has made the situation much worse.
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Nandan Nilekani,
Barbara Crossette
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03/25/09
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Journalist Barbara Crossette talks to Indian software entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani about his book, "Imagining India: The Idea of a Renewed Nation." Their topics include politics, philanthropy, and India's role in the world.
It wouldn't take much to rescue those living in extreme poverty, says philosopher Peter Singer. If the top 90 percent of Americans gave at least 1 percent of their income we could reach the Millennium Development Goals.
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Emile A. Nakhleh
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03/05/09
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Nakhleh, the CIA's former point person on Islam, argues that the majority of Muslims strongly oppose terrorism and that an engagement with the Muslim world benefits the national interest of the United States.
The UN's response to women's issues has been abysmal, declares Lewis, particularly in dealing with HIV/AIDS. In order to give 52 percent of the world's population the representation they deserve, it's time to create a special UN Women's Agency.
Ambassador Ann Dismorr examines Turkey's troubled relations with the EU, its role in the Middle East, its complex relationship with the U.S., and the reforms initiated by the Justice and Development Party.
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H.E. Mr. Heraldo Muñoz
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02/19/09
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In his first-hand account of the brutal Pinochet years and their aftermath, H.E. Mr. Heraldo Muñoz asks, "The agonizing question is: Was Pinochet necessary? Could Chile have reached its present prosperity without him?"
What's next for Iraq? Thomas Ricks predicts that the U.S. military presence there will continue for at least another five to ten years, and that Iraq will change Obama more than Obama will change Iraq.
What can the mistakes and missed opportunities of the past teach the new Obama administration about how to go forward with the Arab-Israeli peace process?
Once the stuff of science fiction, robotics are already changing the way wars are being fought, says P.W. Singer. How will they affect the politics, economics, laws, and ethics of warfare?
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Gordon M. Goldstein
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01/13/09
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Based on his recently published book "Lessons in Disaster: McGeorge Bundy and the Path to War in Vietnam", Gordon Goldstein explains how important it is for us to understand why and how American presidents take our country to war.
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Robert Hunter,
David C. Speedie
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12/10/08
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The post-Cold War NATO has expanded, both in mission and membership. In each instance, problems have arisen with Russia. What are the lessons to be learned from these stresses, and what are NATO's prospects?
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David Singh Grewal
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12/03/08
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How can we understand the dynamics of globalization? Author David Singh Grewal explains that the idea of network power supplies a coherent set of terms and concepts, which are applicable to individuals, businesses, and countries alike.
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Michael Kinsley,
William Easterly
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12/02/08
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Michael Kinsley and William Easterly discuss Bill Gates's controversial proposal for "creative capitalism," in which big corporations integrate doing good into their way of doing business.
The neocons and al-Qaeda have both failed to reach their objectives, says Gilles Kepel. We are now facing one big power in the Middle East: Iran.
Lawrence Lessig discusses how creative users of new technologies can be protected from copyright laws and reveals solutions to the "hybrid economy" evident in such websites as Wikipedia and YouTube.
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Andrew J. Nathan,
Yun-han Chu
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11/18/08
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Nathan and Chu report on surveys in five new democracies (Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, and Mongolia), one established one (Japan), and two nondemocracies (China and Hong Kong).
For 30 years, the economic condition of most Americans has become ever more precarious. To change this requires a cogent ideology and politics of a managed, rather than laissez-faire, brand of capitalism, says Robert Kuttner.
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Andrew J. Bacevich
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11/03/08
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America is facing a profound triple crisis: the economy, the government, and an involvement in endless wars. This threatens all of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, says Andrew Bacevich.
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Karl E. Meyer,
Shareen Blair Brysac
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10/29/08
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Who were the British and Americans who shaped the region we call the Middle East, from the 1882 British invasion of Egypt to today's Iraq War? Karl E. Meyer and Shareen Blair Brysac tell their stories.
Ted Widmer shows that from its beginnings, the United States, for all its shortfalls, has been by far the world’s greatest advocate for freedom.
According to James Traub, although Bush bungled his famous Freedom Agenda—that American liberty is dependent on liberty in other lands—the concept still holds true.
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Michael W. Doyle,
Harold H. Koh
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09/23/08
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Is the Bush Doctrine of aggressive preventive action a justified and legal recourse against threats posed by terrorists and rogue states? Does the United States have the right to defend itself by striking first, or must it wait until an attack is in progress?
The world is in the midst of a great transition from nation states to "market states", says Philip Bobbitt, and consequently almost every widely-held idea we currently have about 21st century terrorism is wrong.
There has been a fundamental disconnect between the Bush Administration and the reality in Iraq, says Bing West, but nevertheless, the U.S. army has managed to turn things around.
Prominent Jordanian diplomat Marwan Muasher explains why moderates in the Arab world have made so little headway, and why current Western tactics for dealing with Islamic groups are doomed to fail.
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Marshall I. Goldman
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06/04/08
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"'What is good for Gazprom is good for the world!' This emphatic claim by a prominent Russian energy official lies at the core of Marshall Goldman's timely and sobering new study of Moscow's petroleum industry." - Norman M. Naimark, Stanford
"Almost every single important extremist leader is living on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan," says Ahmed Rashid. Compared to this threat, Iraq is a sideshow.
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Sir Lawrence Freedman
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05/19/08
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Looking back over the last 30 years, historian Sir Lawrence Freedman analyzes the complex politics of the Middle East and shows how America's policy choices in previous crises have led to the current dilemmas.
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Michael T. Klare
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05/14/08
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Michael Klare warns that the world's diminishing sources of energy may create a new arms race between the U.S. and China. It is essential that instead of competing, the two nations cooperate to find viable alternative fuels, he says.
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Kimberly Dozier,
Jeffrey D. McCausland
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05/12/08
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Kimberly Dozier, a veteran Middle East journalist who was critically wounded in a Baghdad bomb blast, talks about the difficulties of reporting from Iraq. It's dangerous, it's expensive, and people don't want to hear it.
Ashraf Ghani played an instrumental role in the design and implementation of the post-Taliban settlement in Afghanistan. He argues that only an integrated approach can fix failing states worldwide.
Quil Lawrence tells the story of the Kurds, the only Iraqi ethnic group that want the Americans to stay. Divided among Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria and numbering 25 million, the Kurds are the largest ethnic group without their own nation.
Americans ask, "Why do they hate us? Is this country pro or anti-U.S.?" But what Parag Khanna finds is that increasingly, many just don't care about the United States.
"There are not six million Tibetans in China," says Guy Sorman. "There are one billion." If the many Chinese who are not beneficiaries of economic development could express themselves, they would say the same things as the Tibetans.
Paul Krugman analyses America's economic history over the last eight decades and asks: How can we reclaim the relationship between America's government and its citizens? What will it take to achieve a new New Deal?
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Cesare P. R. Romano,
Stephen M. Schwebel,
Daniel Terris
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03/19/08
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Who are the judges that sit on the International Court of Justice; what are the issues and challenges they face; and what is their approach to international law?
What are the ideas and movements driving change in Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Morocco, the Gulf States and the Palestinian territories, and what are the obstacles they confront?
"In spite of being stingy, and in spite of being late, and in spite of being half-hearted, we are making progress," says Egeland. But we must respond to all disasters, not just those that hit the headlines.
Bernard Haykel sheds light on the inner workings of Saudi Arabia, from the relationship between the government and various Islamic groups, to the position of women and the Kingdom's relationship with the U.S.
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George A. Lopez,
Thomas E. McNamara
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02/19/08
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George A. Lopez and Thomas E. McNamara discuss ways to defeat global terrorist threats.
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Peter Ackerman,
Larry Diamond,
Arch Puddington,
Jennifer L. Windsor
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02/06/08
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Freedom House representatives and Larry Diamond discuss the findings of the FH annual survey, "Freedom in the World 2008," which shines a light on the decline in freedom around the world.
What will it take to make America better and stronger? We can solve such problems as health insurance and our addiction to oil, says Senator Bill Bradley. But first, politicians must tell the American people some hard truths.
Global poverty is falling, but a minority of developing countries are stagnant and diverging from the rest of mankind, says Collier, which is a danger to global stability. He identifies four poverty traps and in this talk focuses on one of them--resource riches.
Long before Bhutto's assassination, Pakistan already was in crisis, wrestling with Draconian laws, the conflict between secularism and Islam, and an increasing terrorist threat. Ahmed Rashid, author of "Taliban," analyses the situation.
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D. Michael Lindsay
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12/07/07
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D. Michael Lindsay says that evangelicals have become the new internationalists working at both policy and grassroot levels for more American engagement abroad. How does this affect America and the rest of the world?
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General Sir Rupert Smith
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01/24/07
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"The new paradigm is war amongst the people," says General Smith, "where the strategic objective is to win hearts and minds, and the battle is for the people's will, rather than the destruction of an opponent's forces."
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Joseph Cirincione
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12/05/06
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We are at a nuclear tipping point, says Joseph Cirincione, and the policy decisions the United States makes over the next 3-5 years will decide whether or not we launch another great wave of nuclear proliferation.
Senator John Danforth argues that religious people should engage in politics, but, he notes, "there is a difference between engaging in politics and transforming politics and government into an extension or an enforcer of your religious point of view."
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Charlayne Hunter-Gault,
Warren Hoge
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06/21/06
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Journalist (and South Africa resident) Hunter-Gault gives a surprisingly optimistic assessment of modern Africa, revealing that there is more to the continent than the bad news of disease, disaster, and despair.
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Shashi Tharoor,
James Traub,
Ruth Wedgwood
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06/12/06
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Is the UN "I" for irrelevant, or "I" for indispensable, as Shashi Tharoor would have it? While conceding that the UN is relevant, Ruth Wedgwood argues that "competing multilaterals" should also play a role in solving the world's problems. This witty but always deeply serious debate will give both sides of the argument food for thought.
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Vali Nasr,
Fatemeh Haghighatjoo,
John Tirman
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05/17/06
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Iranian human rights advocate Fatemeh Haghighatjoo says that Iranian political parties and individuals critical of their government’s handling of the nuclear issue "have joined the debate [and] believe that the ultimate pressure that can change Iran’s nuclear policy will come from within, not from without."
In order to understand the Arab mistrust of the United States and of the West in general, says Milton Viorst, we must study the turbulent history of the relations between the Christian and Muslim world, particularly the clashes and betrayals since World War I.
Nobel-Prize-winning author and activist Wole Soyinka discusses the current crisis in Nigeria as President Obasanjo tries to subvert the constitution to give himself a third term, and also calls for immediate UN intervention in Darfur.
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Joseph E. Stiglitz
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04/03/06
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Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz details what a trade agreement might look like if based on principles of economic analysis and social justice for the world economy. He points to how less developed countries are currently disadvantaged in the negotiating process.
Roy looks at how Islam is becoming a globalized religion, less linked to culture than many in the West presume. This shift in identity is important to understand if governments are to be effective and just in setting immigration and integration policies, and in combatting terrorists.
Lewis offers his personal, often searing, insider's account of the plight of Africa and Africans with AIDS, and the wealthy world's betrayal.
According to Chris Patten, Europe wants to be a partner to the United States rather than a rival. Meanwhile, America and Europe both need to recognize that they no longer set the global agenda, and that they must work with and through China and India.
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Benjamin M. Friedman
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10/27/05
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Political economist Benjamin Friedman argues that economic growth is a prerequisite for a liberal, open society. He contends that it encourages tolerance, democracy and generous public support for the poor, while economic stagnation and insecurity result in the very opposite.
Articles, Papers, and Reports
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Nassim Nicholas Taleb
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01/11/11
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The main cause behind the recent financial crisis was the accumulation of hidden risks in the system. This was compounded by the agency problem, which is when the manager (the agent) serves his own interest at the expense of the person he is supposed to represent.
The current war in Colombia has been raging for at least four decades, but civil conflict has been present in Colombia at least since the time of colonization. Economic inequalities, political marginalization, a lack of a viable national development model, and the absence of the rule of law are some of the key underlying causes that have led to the now seemingly uncontrollable violence that has engulfed this country at the northern tip of South America.
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