Features

Snapshots

Snapshot,
James Dobbins

With the cancellation of Afghanistan's runoff election, Washington is left with Hamid Karzai as its partner in Kabul. How did Karzai come to power in the first place, and what might that say about his ability to rule?

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Snapshot,
Barbara Elias

Beyond the current debate about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan lie more fundamental questions of who the Taliban are, how they are organized, what they want, and whether they can be separated from al Qaeda.

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Snapshot,
Soner Cagaptay

Under the leadership of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey's foreign policy is becoming more Islamist. Can the country's history of cooperation with the West survive?

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Letters From

Letter From,
Samanth Subramanian

The BJP's Hindu nationalism may have won it votes in the past, but the party now faces an identity crisis that is imperiling its future.

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Letter From,
Jerry Guo

Iran's disputed election marked the rise of a new power elite. Now, with more protests looming and a nuclear program facing international pressure, can the Revolutionary Guard and its allies sustain their tightening grip on the Islamic Republic?

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Letter From,
Kent E. Calder

Since Yukio Hatoyama became prime minister of Japan, Washington has grown worried that the U.S.-Japanese alliance may be weakening. Can the two countries still find common interests?

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Postscripts

Postscript,
Michael C. Desch

General Stanley McChrystal had the right to offer President Obama advice about his Afghanistan strategy. But by offering it so publicly, he undermined the president's authority over the military.

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Postscript,
Kathy Gannon

As the United States and its NATO allies slog on in Afghanistan, it is Washington's mismanagement of local alliances that has proved to be the undoing of its strategy in the country.

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Postscript,
Charles King

The recent EU report on the 2008 Russia-Georgia War confirms that both Georgia and Russia acted irresponsibly before and during the war. But it misses an opportunity to outline how the long-running territorial disputes of the Caucasus might be best resolved.

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Reading Lists

Reading List,
Stephen Kotkin

An annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on communism.

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Reading List,
Nicholas Eberstadt

An annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on North Korean politics.

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Reading List,
Chris Seiple

An annotated Foreign Affairs syllabus on religion and foreign policy.

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Comments

Comment, Nov/Dec 2009
Mitchel B. Wallerstein

Strict export restrictions are making U.S. businesses less competitive and the country less secure. Policymakers must craft new regulations to help, rather than harm, U.S. interests.

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Comment, Nov/Dec 2009
Wesley K. Clark and Peter L. Levin

Cyberwarfare is not an abstract future threat. The United States’ electronic defenses are vulnerable and Washington must act quickly to secure computer networks, software, and hardware before it is too late.

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Comment, May/June 2009
Michael Krepon

The threat of nuclear armageddon is overblown. Instead of stoking fear, policymakers should focus on securing existing nuclear materials and keeping them out of the hands of potential proliferators.

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Essays

Essay, Nov/Dec 2009
Andrei Lankov

By exposing them to the truth about their impoverishment and about the prosperity of their South Korean cousins, the United States can encourage North Koreans to change the regime in Pyongyang.

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Essay, Nov/Dec 2009
Christopher S. Bond and Lewis M. Simons

U.S. policymakers can no longer afford to ignore Southeast Asia. The United States should use trade, aid, and education to alleviate poverty and prevent terrorism in the region.

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Essay, Nov/Dec 2009
Bronwyn Bruton

Washington's repeated attempts to bring peace to Somalia with state-building initiatives have failed, even backfired. It should renounce political intervention and encourage local development without trying to improve governance

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Responses

Response, Nov/Dec 2009
Thomas Donnelly, Philip Dur, and Andrew F. Krepinevich Jr.

Andrew Krepinevich's vision for the U.S. military underestimates Washington's existing commitments and capabilities, Thomas Donnelly and Philip Dur argue. Not so, replies Krepinevich, and now is no time to stay the course.

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Response, JUL/AUG 2009
Joseph S. Nye Jr.

Leslie Gelb's skepticism of "smart power" is misguided; it is only by combining the strategies of both hard and soft power that the United States can achieve its ends.

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