Letter from the Editor (PDF)

By Mark Redmond

Editor-in-Chief (2012-2013)

ARTICLES

Rethinking Anti-Drone Legal Strategies: Questioning Pakistani and Yemeni “Consent” (PDF)

By Dawood I. Ahmed

The United States has been carrying out drone strikes within Yemen and Pakistan since 2002 and 2004 respectively. Opponents have attempted to halt the use of drones by invoking legal arguments against the United States government. In doing so, they have overlooked the possibility that it may have taken ‘two to drone.’ In light of claims that the Pakistani and Yemeni governments have consented to drone strikes, the article queries why anti-drone lawyers have not yet employed similar legal arguments to determine whether and on what terms these governments have consented or acquiesced to drone strikes, even if such consent was forced. It also argues that a narrow strategy of constraining only the United States government while not engaging in parallel lawsuits that will shed light on the alleged involvement of these governments not only reduces the effectiveness of anti-drone advocacy but may also allow the Pakistani and Yemeni governments to dodge domestic accountability for harms caused by drone strikes. 

International Affairs as if Compassion and Cooperation Mattered (PDF)

By Caroline S. Conzelman

We cannot resolve the complex problems of our global system by applying more of the principles and policies that caused them. We need new generations of global citizens who are brave enough to challenge the status quo, and to privilege compassion and cooperation over hierarchy and competition. Cultural anthropology provides the tools for such critical reflection and creative action. I explain here how I teach an international affairs course from an anthropological perspective, and I offer my views on why I believe professionals in business, development, government, the military, and elsewhere stand to gain from adopting anthropological methods and values. 

The Organization of American States (OAS) and Its Quest for Democracy in the Americas (PDF)

By Hugo de Zela Martinez

The history of the Organization of American States (OAS) mirrors that of its member states and their sixty-four-year-old struggle to balance the principle of non-intervention with exceptions to it in the name of democracy and human rights. With decisions based on consensus, that struggle now focuses on how best to apply the 2001 Inter-American Democratic Charter. 

Who Authorized Preparations for War with China? (PDF)

By Amitai Etzioni

The Pentagon has concluded that the time has come to prepare for war with China, and in a manner well beyond crafting the sort of contingency plans that are expected for wide a range of possible confrontations. It is a momentous conclusion that will shape the United States’ defense systems, force posture, and overall strategy for dealing with the economically and militarily resurgent China. Thus far, however, the military’s assessment of and preparations for the threat posed by China have not received the high level of review from elected civilian officials that such developments require. The start of a second Obama administration provides an opportunity for civilian authorities to live up to their obligations in this matter and to conduct a proper review of the United States’ China strategy and the military’s role in it. 

Sovereign Wealth Funds, Transnational Law, and The New Paradigms of International Financial Relations (PDF)

By Salar Ghahramani

International financial relations have largely been defined by cross-border trade, foreign direct investments, and global banking relations. This paper demonstrates that another activity, sovereign investments by special vehicles known as sovereign wealth funds, is rapidly redefining the traditional paradigms, providing both opportunities for further integration of the financial markets as well as posing particular challenges for policy makers. 

Seven Cities and Two Years: The Diplomatic Campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan (PDF)

By Marc Grossman

The 2011–2012 diplomatic campaign in Afghanistan and Pakistan could be a model for the conduct of twenty-first century American diplomacy. It was designed as a way to think holistically about the interaction of diplomacy with the other aspects of U.S. national power. It was built on the conviction that diplomacy is a key component of U.S. power, on the belief that a “whole of government” approach is the best way to meet twenty-first century challenges, on a commitment to the need to act simultaneously on key matters, and on the force-multiplying strength of fighting and working with allies, friends, and partners. Creating, shaping, and leveraging a web of strategic partnership agreements, international meetings, and economic initiatives, as well as by trying to open the door to an Afghan-led peace process, the 2011–2012 U.S. diplomatic effort sought to engage the countries of South-Central Asia and the international community to support a secure, stable, and prosperous Afghanistan inside of a secure, stable, and prosperous region. 

The Emergence of Deng Xiaoping in North Korea? Determining Prospects for North Korean Economic Reform (PDF)

By Yangmo Ku

To what extent could North Korea’s new leader Kim Jong-un follow the path of economic reform that Deng Xiaoping adopted in China starting in the late 1970s? This article analyzes the role of individual leadership, domestic context, and systemic considerations to determine whether or not China’s past is applicable to North Korea’s present. This compara tive study shows that the prospect for economic reform in North Korea is not very promising. 

INTERVIEWS

A Path to Permanent War? (PDF)

By Andrew Bacevich

Andrew Bacevich teaches at Boston University, where he is a Professor of International Relations. A graduate of West Point and a retired Army colonel, he earned his PhD at Princeton University and has previously taught at both West Point and Johns Hopkins University. He has written extensively on international affairs and U.S. national security, and his most recent book is titled Washington Rules: America’s Path to Permanent War.

Fostering Stability in Conflict Zones (PDF)

By Rick Barton

Ambassador Rick Barton is the Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations. He also previously served as the Co-Director of the Post Conflict Reconstruction Project for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and was Deputy High Commissioner of the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). He recently returned from a diplomatic mission to Burma.

Diplomacy in a Non-Polar World (PDF)

By Ryan Crocker

Ambassador Ryan Crocker served as U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon, Kuwait, Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, and most recently, Afghanistan. A recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he is currently a Senior Fellow at Yale University’s Jackson School of Global Affairs while on sabbatical from serving as Dean of the Bush School at Texas A&M University.

Vigilance Is Key (PDF)

By Philip Mudd

Philip Mudd joined the CIA in 1985 and went on to serve as the Deputy Director of the CIA’s Counterterrorism Center (CTC) before a subsequent appointment as the first Deputy Director of the FBI’s National Security Service (NSS). He is now the Director of Global Risk for SouthernSun Asset Management.

Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy (PDF)

By Paul Pillar

Paul Pillar is a twenty-eight-year veteran of the CIA, and served as an Army officer during the Vietnam War. He earned his MA and PhD from Princeton, and also graduated from Dartmouth and Oxford. He is now a Nonresident Senior Fellow at Georgetown University and a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. An author of many books, his most recent work is Intelligence and US Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11 and Misguided Reform (2011).

OP-EDS

Should Syria Honor Assad-Era Debts? (PDF)

By Tai-Heng Cheng & Lucas Bento

Drones: A Tactic, Not a Strategy (PDF)

By Christopher Harnisch

NATO is a Global Organization in All but Name (PDF)

By Seth A. Johnston

U.S. Global AIDS Funding and its Discontents: Why the Supreme Court Must Strike Down the Anti-Prostitution Pledge (PDF)

By Chi Adanna Mgbako

The Great Firewall and the Perils of Censorship in Modern China (PDF)

By Natalie E. Sammarco