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Under the Influence: The Measure of American Power
By Andrew Bast 06 Nov 2009World Politics Review
Contrary to the realists who believe that international politics is a zero-sum game, the world is more complicated than, "If I win, you lose." If U.S. power is waning, it remains damn strong. And that it is waning is far less a function of choice, than the result of a global order outside the comprehensive grasp of any single state -- or empire, for that matter.
World Citizen: Yemen Is a Failed State in the Making
By Frida Ghitis 05 Nov 2009 | World Politics Review Before 9/11, no one could have predicted that attacks concocted in remote, impoverished Afghanistan might have such a cataclysmic impact on history. Now we know that we ignore such states at our own risk. That's why remote and impoverished Yemen, a country by all appearances undergoing a slow-motion collapse, is likely to draw increasing attention -- and cause increasing alarm.War is Boring: New Afghan Strategy Focuses on Farmers
By David Axe 04 Nov 2009 | World Politics Review LOGAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan -- In a farming village near Baraki Barak district, soldiers from the U.S. Army's 2nd Platoon, Able Troop, approached every farmer they saw and, through an interpreter, invited them to fill out a survey about local agriculture. The answers will help U.S. forces give friendly Afghans a little of what they want in exchange for their cooperation.Global Insights: Germany Relaunches NATO Nuclear Debate
By Richard Weitz 03 Nov 2009 | World Politics Review One issue German Chancellor Angela Merkel may avoid raising in her speech to a joint session of Congress today is her new coalition government's commitment to remove all U.S. nuclear weapons from Germany within the next few years. The pledge has focused attention on what has until now been a low-key debate within NATO over whether to retain nuclear weapons as a core element of the alliance's strategy.The New Rules: When Contractors Fill America's Foreign Policy Gap
By Thomas P.M. Barnett 02 Nov 2009 | World Politics Review Is the privatization of American development aid a case of the U.S. "outsourcing" sovereign functions, or of weak and failed states insourcing them? The question is not simply one of semantics but of directional causality: Is this stunning evolution the result of a supply-push on the part of the U.S. government or a demand-pull on the part of developing economies and failed states?Under the Influence: Upping the Alliance With Japan
By Andrew Bast 30 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review It is striking how little attention the wider American discussion over foreign policy pays to Japan. Japan still claims the title of the world's second largest economy. Its relationship with the U.S. has been as intimate as any other between major powers in the last 50 years. And to complicate matters, experts say the Japanese have long worried about being abandoned by the Americans.World Citizen: PA Elections in January? Don't Count on It
By Frida Ghitis 29 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review One of the most reliable lessons one gleans from observing intra-Palestinian politics is the need to always expect the unexpected. Important events have a tendency not to unfold according to plan. We should keep that in mind when considering Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' sudden call for new parliamentary and presidential elections to be held on Jan. 24.War is Boring: Afghan War Demands More Civilians
By David Axe 28 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review A 6-year-old Afghan girl's treatment in an Air Force hospital reflects an imbalance in international efforts to secure and rebuild Afghanistan. The high level of military activity has not been matched by aid groups and government civilians. As a result, Afghanistan still struggles with a lack of social services, jobs and medical care -- and that could undermine the military strategy.Global Insights: Sounding the Toxin Tocsin
By Richard Weitz 27 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review A bipartisan commission last week reiterated its warning that the U.S. government is responding inadequately to the threat of bioterrorism. The latest report by the U.S. Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism affirms that progress has been made. But according to the commission, "the clock is still ticking."The New Rules: Prahalad's 'Bottom of the Pyramid' is Top-Notch Thinking
By Thomas P.M. Barnett 26 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review Most Western corporations cannot eke out that much more profit in increasingly saturated home markets. Instead they need to consider the "fortune" of disposable income that's being amassed at lower socio-economic levels, in both emerging markets and still underdeveloped economies, thanks to globalization's advance.Under the Influence: Yes, Diplomacy Can Save Darfur
By Andrew Bast 23 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review First there was Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Then there was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran. And now there is Omar al-Bashir in Sudan. So far for President Barack Obama, dealing with tyrants has resulted in a net gain. But the 65-year-old despot who rules Sudan is arguably even further beyond the pale than the rest.World Citizen: Ethnic Divisions Are Iran's Other Achilles' Heel
By Frida Ghitis 22 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review The disturbances following last June's presidential election revealed one of Iran's great weaknesses: widespread discontent with a regime of questionable legitimacy. Now that the regime has suppressed the protests, however, the problem of internal dissent has not ended. As it turns out, Iran has another Achilles' Heel, one just as debilitating as its political rifts: its deep ethnic divisions.War is Boring: Generator Delivery Underscores Afghan War Challenges
By David Axe 21 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review One unit's solution to the problem of powering an observation post illustrates many of the most vexing challenges underlying the eight-year-old Afghanistan war. Poor infrastructure, daunting terrain, manpower shortages, equipment shortfalls and a sometimes ambivalent local populace dog not just 3rd Squadron, but the whole war effort.Global Insights: Obama Prepares to Re-engage on CTBT
By Richard Weitz 20 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review A decade after the U.S. Senate declined to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, President Barack Obama is preparing an effort to reverse that decision. But to secure Senate backing this time around, the Obama administration must first overcome residual concerns among some senators that the treaty will harm U.S. national security.The New Rules: Seeing China's Present Through America's Past
By Thomas P.M. Barnett 19 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review Our nation was blessed to have a generation of reformers rise at the turn of the 20th century to tame our exceedingly rapacious style of capitalism. Without their efforts and the resulting new rules, our union would have once again come apart at the seams. That difficult and tumultuous journey is worth remembering as we contemplate China's stunningly similar trajectory today.Under the Influence: A New Horizon for Haiti
By Andrew Bast 16 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review Haiti is no haven for investment. It is dangerous. It is underdeveloped. And despite former President Bill Clinton's recent assertion that this could be the best moment he's seen in his lifetime for a reinvigorated economy there, Haiti -- to put it bluntly -- has a long way to go. But the island may very well be experiencing a harmonious confluence of efforts by international actors to make things better.World Citizen: For Turkey and Israel, Common Interests Trump Tensions
By Frida Ghitis 15 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review Turkey and Israel's relationship has long stood as a unique model of pragmatic, strategic thinking in a region rife with instability, tension, and identity-based alliances. In recent months, growing strains between the two countries have led some to believe their decades-old ties could reach the breaking point. But a closer look at the relationship reveals that a break is highly unlikely.War is Boring: Counterpiracy Mission Targets Seafarers' Hearts and Minds
By David Axe 14 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review ABOARD USS DONALD COOK -- Boarding teams man the front lines of the war against piracy. When one of the warships patrolling East African waters encounters a pirate boat, it's usually the boarding team that's tasked to apprehend the crew. It's dangerous work that also represents the point of contact between a powerful naval coalition and a community of struggling fishermen.Global Insights: Korean Nuclear Diplomacy Resumes
By Richard Weitz 13 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review Last week was a busy one for efforts to negotiate a settlement to North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Meetings between various groupings of regional leaders, including a visit to North Korea by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, resulted in some progress. But longstanding obstacles persist, and new impediments have arisen.The New Rules: Obama's Nobel Says 'Thank You, America'
By Thomas P.M. Barnett 12 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review America awoke last Friday to the stunning news that President Barack Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. As with all such awards, more was revealed about the selectors than the selected. So if the choice of Obama is inarguably premature, then what signal does the prize send? Simply put, Thank you, America.Under the Influence: Tangled Up in Cuba
By Andrew Bast 09 Oct 2009 | World Politics Review November will mark 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of communism in Europe, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Cold War has been over for as long as it takes to educate an entirely new generation of leaders. But although the leaders of both the U.S. and Cuba have changed, the backward view each has of the other has not.
