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Open Think Tank Articles
Joshua Clapp: In conjunction with the “Your Ideas Your NATO” competition, we are providing an overview of the three categories of the contest: Values and Community, Partnerships after the Arab Spring, and Smart Defense. The readings below can help you get started on understanding the issues and making your own policy recommendations.
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Gillian Kennedy: The trial of Hosni Mubarak signals the end of an authoritarian era in the Middle East. For too long, the US and Europe acquiesced in fraudaulent elections and brutal political repression in the region. Now, they must engage with a new Arab polity to secure a real democratic transition.
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Editorial Team: Ben Scott, policy advisor for innovation to Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, joined Atlantic Initiative, publisher of atlantic-community.org, at a roundtable discussion to talk about the importance of new media in foreign policy.
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Stefanie Jennifer Tetenburg: Current fears that Turkey is moving away from its Euro-Atlantic orientation are misguided. Ankara is indeed strengthening ties with its Muslim neighbors but it is also improving relations with Russia and Armenia. The West should, instead, focus on the benefits that Turkey’s multilateral foreign policy can bring.
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Shakti Prasad Srichandan: The signing of a nuclear deal between India and the US comes as Delhi is emerging as a factor in the global balance of power with a new approach to foreign relations. The task of leading the region towards modernization falls on India and this will have a direct impact on global security.
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Editorial Team: In his Cairo speech, US President Obama attempted to heal US relations with the Muslim world. But there is increasing controversy surrounding his outreach-focused approach to foreign relations with some commentators claiming that apologizing for past wrongs is dangerous and weakens the US.
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Editorial Team: Joseph Nye accuses political science of losing relevance and short-changing students by overemphasizing theory in lieu of policymaking. Atlantic-Community.org hopes to offer a space where students, academics, and professionals can debate global problems, develop solutions, and formulate policy recommendations.
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Rudi Guraziu: The debate between realists and liberals outlines the importance of public opinion in foreign policy making. However, its impact remains limited.
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Jordan Michael Smith: The unprecedented enthusiasm with which the election of President Obama has been received in Europe is destined to sink when European and American interests conflict. Measures can, however, be applied on both sides of the Atlantic to secure the positive development of the Euro-American relationship.
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Memo 10: In this new era under the Obama White House, it is high time for a transformation of transatlantic relations. The US must distance itself from the unipolar policies of the past and come to terms with a multipolar world. The EU has to develop more proactive policies.
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Wess Mitchell: President-elect Obama will be the first president facing the reality of global multipolarity. In view of the intricate international agenda that is challenging US policy, Obama must break with the unipolar mentality of President Bush. He must distance himself from his predecessors bipolar approaches and adjust US foreign policy to the actuality of a multipolar world.
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Simon K. Koschut: President-elect Obama faces a tough challenge once he takes office. The world is expecting change from America, but they shouldn’t hope for too much, too fast. Instead, in countries like Germany, the question needs to be “what can we do for the United States?” Likely topics of discussion will regard burden sharing in Afghanistan and possibly even Iraq.
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David Neil Lebhar: While the race between Obama and McCain is too close to call, US voters and the world must realize that the two candidates’ foreign policy positions are not especially different. Furthermore, due to economic instability, domestic concerns, and a shifting geo-political balance, the next president will have to react to international issues through re-defined multilateralism.
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Sonja Davidovic: Through the changes in the global power structure resulting from the breakdown of the Soviet Union, the USA inevitably assumed the role of a “Global Leader”. This shifted position within the international community provided the American theorists of foreign policy with new tasks. It has become imperative to define the positioning of the USA in the modified global political landscape and to find a suitable strategic orientation of the activities in the field of foreign policy.
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Andreas Umland: A conspirological form of anti-Americanism has become Russia’s new foreign policy doctrine. Paradoxically, the Russian elite, at the same time, wants to build closer relations with the US’s major partner in continental Europe - Germany.
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Global Must Read Articles
As this year’s American presidential election looms closer, Barack Obama’s foreign policy strategy has been simple: put off policy solutions until after the elections. ++ Obama has been willing to delay arms control negotiations with Russia and avoid military action against Syria and Iran. ++ Although buying time might serve his electoral needs, the number of civilian casualties in Syria has been
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President Obama has committed much of the domestic capital to pushing a new nuclear arms control treaty with Russia with a purpose of containing rogue states like Iran and North Korea. ++ He has remained focused on driving the strategies on nuclear disarmament and Israeli settlements. ++ However, he has lacked to present a strategy lest an independent Palestinian state is created and where the
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Fabrice Pothier is the director of Carnegie Europe, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s pan-European foreign policy forum for senior policy makers, experts, and leading journalists. Pothier is a noted commentator on European policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan, transatlantic issues, and global drugs policy.
Prior to his appointment, Pothier was head of policy analysis
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Obama rode to power with the promise of improved diplomacy to counter eight years of Bush-style international relations. ++ However, the recent trip throughout Asia has revealed the limits of the new administration’s approach. ++ No real concessions were made by Beijing, and even old friends in Israel have not heeded the word of the American President. ++ Obama is losing leverage. ++ Perhaps the
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South Korea must recognize that North Korea is not treating its nuclear power as a bargaining chip, but as a safety measure and the core of its survival strategy. ++ The world’s strategy must adapt without giving up the objective of a nuclear free peninsula. ++ This requires harsh UN sanctions with China’s
participation. ++ Despite North Korea’s obstinate position, South Korea should continue
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The Obama Administration’ acknowledgement that the US has not been consistent in its policies towards Pakistan and has engaged selectively to attain specific interests rather than to develop a reliable partnership means nothing when they continue drone attacks within the tribal belt and offer no strategic plan for this “intervention”. ++ The statement “is a very costless diplomatic gesture to
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Under the Obama Administration the promotion of democracy in foreign policy is likely to take a back seat to defense, diplomacy, and development. ++ In previous administrations democracy took on an “imperialist connotation,” but there “is a danger in over-reacting to the failures of Bush’s policies.” ++ Democracy is not in retreat, but it is “important to distinguish the goal from the means used
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NATO, so far the most successful regional security alliance, needs to define its strategic focus.++ While Afghanistan remains the pressing issue, NATO needs to move beyond a focus on the topical hotspots towards long-term strategic thinking.++ With the number of non-traditional threats rising, reality is that NATO won’t be able to address every challenge.++ Thus, a consensus on the scope of
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The unconstitutional rule of Commodore Bainimarama in Fiji and the mayhem in Thailand reinforced the fragility of democracy in South East Asia.++ The problem of young democracies is a lack of restraining institutions to ensure the elected government’s interest to govern.++ Favoring elections as a benchmark for democracy, the West encouraged unviable regimes that lack both the capacity of
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In his State
of The Union Address
in January 2002, George W. Bush warned us of the infamous “Axis of
Evil.” Iran, North Korea and Iraq were accused of harboring
terrorists, building weapons of mass destruction and threatening world peace.
Seven years later, President Obama is confronted with another similarly grave
“Axis.” This time, however, it is not linked to terrorism or weapons
of
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A lot has happened recently, but the event which still steals the thunder is the election of President Obama and the new foreign policy he has designed for the US. ++ The Munich Security Conference offers confirmation; Biden came to Europe and promised that the US will “listen” and “engage” Europe and also attempt to improve relations with Russia. ++ But in promising a
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Prior to his trip to the US, German FM Steinmeier has stated that he wants to start a new disarmament initiative, a cornerstone of the Obama administration. ++ Russia should also be addressed and the NATO-Russia Council revitalized, as dialogue is the only constructive approach in tense times. ++ As for Iran, the unprecedented chance the US government offers to discuss the nuclear program with
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Obama’s foreign policy proposals are too vapid; far from incipient or novel, we are subjected to his recycled ideas - which, albeit, were fresh when first espoused in the face of Bush dogmatism. ++ “These ideas have lost their oomph among discerning voters.” ++ Catching Bin Laden, sending more troops to Afghanistan, and unconditional support for Georgia are all calls from the neocon playbook.
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While every candidate seems to agree that “America’s current public diplomacy efforts are badly flawed,” each conceives a different solution to the problem. ++ The warnings which are currently circulating in academic and policy circles need to be taken into consideration: anti-Americanism is largely created by America’s foreign policy failures. ++ Since the foreign policy decisions of the next
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UK Foreign Secretary Miliband believes Britain should no longer be “the bridge” speaking for the US in the EU, and in the name of its European neighbors in Washington. ++ Even if the US remains Britain’s most important bilateral partner, Britain belongs to Europe. ++ Strong and trustful transatlantic relations need to be established together with France and Germany rather than unilaterally. ++
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While Obama upholds transformation, Mc Cain’s intentions suggest a great deal of continuity based on American power considerations. ++ Obama emphasizes negotiation and the use of the US “potential for attraction instead of its capacity for duress.” ++ In practice, pressure groups’ and congress’ likely resistance to multilateralism indicate that Mc Cain’s
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While the world is looking at Clinton and Obama, Senator McCain’s speech of 03/26 remained unnoticed. ++ McCain suggested expelling Russia from the G8 and excluding China as well. ++ His most radical foreign policy idea breaks with traditional US attempts to integrate these major global powers. ++ McCain shouldn’t be “iterating between neoconservative posturing and realist common
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The decline of America’s image in Europe is less a matter of hostility than disillusionment. ++ Reinvigorating the transatlantic relationship requires a more flexible, multilateral US, and Europe
to take more responsibility in the face of common problems. ++ With better attempts to deal with climate change and torture allegations rather than isolationism, the US could easily re-conquer Europe’s
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Energy exports are enabling Russia to be increasingly assertive and object to the US’ deployment of 10 missiles near its borders. ++ If it is possible concerning terrorism and nuclear energy, cooperation between the two countries may spread to more areas, but regarding European missile defense, the US should stand its ground. ++ Giving in would only lead to
greater intransigence from the Kremlin.
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Aside from entertaining international tensions to maintain high oil prices, Russian foreign policy has been dominated by ambivalence towards the West. ++ With the crucial importance of Russians’ foreign assets, the West should not be provoked but can not be trusted. ++ Medvedev may put an end to the Soviet legacy of suspicion in international relations, as well as an understanding of democracy as
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With power changing hands in the US, the time has come for Australia to reconsider its position towards the American leadership and acquire some confidence and self reliance. ++ Both ventures with the US in Vietnam and Iraq were disastrous, and placed Australia on the side of the politically defeated. ++ Australia need not systematically be a follower when it comes to matters of national security.
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The assertion that a Democratic president will have to repair the damage done to the country’s reputation overseas underrates the complexity of feelings towards America. ++ Anti-Americanism is less the result of policies than natural tension with a superpower. ++ As global popularity does not translate into global influence, wise decisions rather than a good reputation should be the guiding
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With broad-based support within Russia for the direction Putin is taking the country and high oil prices, the US can no longer expect Russia to merely acquiesce to its policy preferences. ++ America will have to choose between adamantly pursuing its interests regarding NATO expansion eastwards and the status of Kosovo, or a good relationship with Russia. ++ This is a decision that cannot be
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Japan is donating ever less in aid, partly because chequebook diplomacy has been judged a failure. ++ Japan could increase its international contribution by utilizing its well equipped defence forces, but self imposed restrictions mean they have just 50 peacekeepers abroad. ++ Japan is increasingly ambitious about foreign affairs but with a shrinking aid budget and military phobia, Tokyo is doing
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FP lists the top most valuable disputed turfs that might just be worth a fight. The world was astonished by Russia’s recent claim to the arctic shelf, with potential for billions of dollars worth of oil and gas reserves. But looking globally, many other strategic and mineral rich territories are just as highly contested between several countries. Japan vs. China, Venezuela against major US oil
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The Indian Ministry of External Affairs announced that it plans to double its diplomatic corps within the next five years, reports Jo Johnson of the Financial Times. During a decade in which India joined 13 multilateral organizations and saw its foreign trade surge seven-fold, the number of staff working for the ministry of external affairs decreased from 4,866 to 4,746. In order to address its
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