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Is NATO up to the Afghan Challenge?  NATO and its partners have undertaken "separate and fragmented actions" to contend with the faltering security situation in Afghanistan, said former Afghan Interior Minister Ali A. Jalali at a recent Carnegie event in Washington. If NATO is to be successful in Afghanistan, it must adopt a long-term, nationally coordinated, and holistic strategy. For more background analysis on this week’s NATO summit in Bucharest: • Trenin: NATO and Russia |
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Iraq and Beyond
The Fifth Anniversary of the Iraq War
Carnegie President Jessica T. Mathews shares her thoughts on lessons learned in the five years since the invasion, the debate over withdrawal, the “surge” and lack of political progress, and guiding principles for U.S. foreign policy in the future. Mathews argues that much of what has happened in Iraq proved to be utterly predictable and — at the cost of many lives and billions of dollars — destabilized the region and created an incredibly divisive political debate over the withdrawal of troops.
Related:
• Commentary: Effectiveness of the “Surge” (BBC Radio 4)
• Commentary: Achieving stability in a political vacuum (China Radio International)
"What Should the World Expect from America After Bush?"
Iraq remains the definitive foreign policy difference between the U.S. presidential contenders, while U.S. policy towards China and Russia is unlikely to change dramatically in the next U.S. administration. Robert Kagan and Tom Carothers debate where the presidential candidates differ with regard to their policies on the Middle East, climate change, trade, the war on terror, and the U.S. role in the world.
Pakistani Politics
Restoring the Pakistani Judiciary
Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s decision to imprison Supreme Court judges last year was the beginning of the end of Musharraf’s unchallenged rule, said Frederic Grare in an interview on BBC World. Although Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani has freed the judges, Grare said, different factions of the ruling coalition have yet to decide whether or not the judges will be restored to office.
Russian Politics
Medvedev and the Prospects for Reforming Russian Politics
As the next Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev inherits the duel legacy of a strong top executive and limits on civic freedoms left by his predecessor Vladimir Putin. Some of Medvedev's campaign rhetoric and his non-KGB past have generated optimism that he could work toward liberalizing Russian political discourse. But as Masha Lipman writes in The Washington Post, domestic economic concerns, political infighting, and the continued presence of Putin as prime minister cast such optimism as "wishful thinking."
Arab Political Reform
Beyond the Façade: Political Reform in the Arab World
In the book Beyond the Façade: Political Reform in the Arab World, editors Marina Ottaway and Julia Choucair-Vizoso evaluate the changes taking place in the region and argue that the vast array of reforms implemented by Arab governments over the last two decades have presented a façade of reform while maintaining the concentration of power among authoritarian rulers. Beyond the Façade forces us to recognize the reality of conflicting interests and the limitations of external actors to bring about political reform, while drawing lessons on how to make international democracy promotion more effective.
Arab Reform Bulletin
The April issue of the Arab Reform Bulletin features:
• An interview with three activists about women's rights in Gulf states.
• Controversies surrounding Egypt's municipal elections.
• The Bush administration's budget request for the freedom agenda.
• Prospects for Sarkozy's "Mediterranean Union" proposal.
• A reexamination of Morocco's electoral system.
Plus news developments from across the Middle East, debates in the media, new publications, and much more.
Chinese Governance
China's Regional Governance in the 21st Century
Recent unrest in Tibet and an upcoming presidential election in Taiwan have refocused attention on China's controversial governance policies. Robert Kagan describes in The Washington Post China's difficulty entering a democratic 21st-century global politics with "a 19th-century soul" preoccupied with "nationalist pride, ambitions and resentments." Josh Kurlantzick details in the Los Angles Times the long-simmering circumstances in Tibet and why recent violence shouldn't come as a surprise.
Related:
• Kagan: Behind the 'Modern' China
• Kurlantzick: Volcano in the Himalayas
• Pei: Taiwan poll offers hope for peace
• Event: Assessing U.S. Taiwan Policy
• Event: Report on the Hu-Wen Government
Fusion Economy
The Rise of Authoritarian Capitalism
In the past five years, governments around the world have been transforming themselves into deal makers and business players on a scale never seen in the modern era. The rise of states as global economic players marks a sharp reversal from decades in which private enterprise seemed an unstoppable force in global finance, commerce, and culture. Josh Kurlantzick comments for the Boston Globe on the significant shift in global power this "fusion of state control with business principles" is causing.
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