Spring and Summer 2009

Volume 4,
Issue 2

Doctrine of the International Community: 10 Years Later

Comments by Tony Blair

Responding to 9/11, the London 7/7 bombings, and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair reflects on the present need to engage the Muslim world.

Bringing Africa Online: Leveraging Technology to Enable Entrepreneurs

Scott E. Hartley

Scott E. Hartley writes that technology firms are key to injecting efficiency into financial markets, expanding access to credit and capital, and treating some of the development maladies across Africa.

Going Legit: Qaddafi's Neo-Institutionalism

Dafna Hochman

Dafna Hochman argues that Muammar Qaddafi’s embrace of international and regional institutions should not be dismissed as simply the latest whim of a mercurial leader.

For Passion or Power: Buddhism and Communism in Cambodia and Laos

Jason Ray Hutchison

Comparing the history of Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge and Laos’ Pathet Lao, Jason Ray Hutchison demonstrates that it is often power politics rather than ideological sentiments that determine the strategies revolutionary regimes take toward their institutional foes.

Reevaluating Emerging Market Risks: The Case For Project Finance

Allison F. Kingsley

Allison F. Kingsley writes that historical explanations are insufficient in explaining how investors should approach emerging markets. She integrates competing paradigms and advocates one relatively crisis-resistant and development-positive investment: project finance.

Defeating the FATA Insurgency

Mike Koprowski

Mike Koprowski provides an insight into how the Obama administration’s performance in Afghanistan is inextricably linked to the performance of Pakistan’s security establishment in the tribal areas, and discusses possible U.S. strategies in the region.

Confronting Blood Diamonds in Sierra Leone: The Trial of Charles Taylor

Iryna Marchuk

Iryna Marchuk recounts the trial of Charles Taylor, the infamous warlord of Liberia, who was recently brought to justice in The Hague for the villainy of his dictatorship.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Nuclear Power in 2030: Examining Emissions Estimates and Projected Growth

Simon Tudiver

Nuclear power may have the potential to offset future CO2 emissions by displacing the anticipated growth in fossil fuel generation. Simon Tudiver combines estimates of CO2 emissions from nuclear power with projections of future growth to quantify this potential — and to highlight the uncertainties surrounding these calculations.

Reflections on the Muslim World

Interview with Sallama Shaker

In an interview with YJIA, Sallama Shaker discusses the role of women, education, and diplomacy in the Muslim world.

"The First Law of Ashdown and the Theory of Everything:" Lord Ashdown Visits Yale University

Johan van Rijn

Johan van Rijn offers an overview of the topics that were discussed by Paddy Ashdown during a recent visit to Yale University. Among others, he discusses humanitarian intervention and the changing global order.

After the Oil Boom

Matthew Blomerth

Matthew Blomerth offers an insight into the impending Venezuelan economic crisis that is compounded by the downturn in oil prices and Chavez’s restructuring of the oil industry.

Rethinking Climate Adaptation Assistance

Arpana Pandey and Arathi Rao

Arpana Pandey and Arathi Rao write that in order to help developing countries tackle climate change, the international community must create a new development paradigm that strategically addresses climate change.

Clash of the Titans: The Politics and Science of Crafting Kyoto's Successor

Eva Gladek

Eva Gladek argues that scientists should take a firmer stance in communicating policy targets to politicians, especially in light of the upcoming climate change agreement.

Dim Prospects for the United Nations Human Rights Council

Alexander Besant and Sébastien Malo

Alexander Besant and Sébastien Malo discuss the problems of the nascent Human Rights Council (the principal human rights body in the UN system), U.S. re-engagement under President Obama, as well as ways in which the United States can reform the ailing body.