New Issue Announcement - 2005-04-20

A Global Answer to Global Problems

Paul Martin

The G-20 has helped the world's economic leaders go from simply managing crises to making long-term improvements in the international economy. Now a new leaders' forum—call it the L-20—could do something similar for political problems. 500-WORD PREVIEW

Pitch Imperfect

Sanford J. Ungar

The Voice of America—the United States' best tool of public diplomacy—is being subjected to systematic cutbacks, even as the country's international image is suffering. Washington must reverse the trend or face even greater hostility abroad. 500-WORD PREVIEW

Reflection: Lessons from German History

Fritz Stern

German history teaches that malice and simplicity have their appeal, that force impresses, and that nothing in the public realm is inevitable. It also proves that democratic reconstruction is possible, even on initially uncongenial ground. 500-WORD PREVIEW

The Autumn of the Autocrats

Fouad Ajami

If the assassins of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri sought to make an example of him for his defiance of Syria, the aftermath of the crime has mocked them. For a generation, Lebanon was an appendage of Syrian power. But now the Lebanese people, in an "independence intifada," are clamoring for a return to normalcy. The old Arab edifice of power has survived many challenges in the past, but something is different this time: the United States is now willing to gamble on freedom. FULL TEXT

Freedom and Justice in the Modern Middle East

Bernard Lewis

To speak of dictatorship as being the immemorial way of doing things in the Middle East is simply untrue. It shows ignorance of the Arab past, contempt for the Arab present, and lack of concern for the Arab future. Creating a democratic political and social order in Iraq or elsewhere in the region will not be easy. But it is possible, and there are increasing signs that it has already begun. 500-WORD PREVIEW

Gaza: Moving Forward by Pulling Back

David Makovsky

Despite widespread calls to rush to a final-status agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, it would be a mistake to reach for so much so soon. The parties must first restore trust after four and a half years of violence, above all by making sure that Israel's planned withdrawal from the Gaza Strip proceeds smoothly, leaving peace and security in its wake. 500-WORD PREVIEW

"In Larger Freedom": Decision Time at the UN

Kofi Annan

Dealing with today's threats requires broad, deep, and sustained global cooperation. Thus the states of the world must create a collective security system to prevent terrorism, strengthen nonproliferation, and bring peace to war-torn areas, while also promoting human rights, democracy, and development. And the UN must go through its most radical overhaul yet. FULL TEXT

Saving the World Bank

Sebastian Mallaby

The next World Bank president will confront a nearly impossible challenge: saving the institution from a curious alliance of conservatives and radical activists that threatens to undercut its financial viability and effectiveness. Failure to head off the danger will mean the gradual decline of the best tool the world has for managing globalization, just when that tool is more needed than ever. 500-WORD PREVIEW

What If the British Vote No?

Charles Grant

If ratified, the new EU constitution will change the way the union works. It cannot take effect unless approved by all 25 members, but in only one country -- the United Kingdom -- do polls show that a majority oppose the document. Still, a rejection there would throw Europe into a constitutional crisis. And it could ultimately harm transatlantic relations as well. 500-WORD PREVIEW

How the Street Gangs Took Central America

Ana Arana

For a decade, the United States has exported its gang problem, sending Central American-born criminals back to their homelands—without warning local governments. The result has been an explosive rise of vicious, transnational gangs that now threaten the stability of the region's fragile democracies. As Washington fiddles, the gangs are growing, spreading north into Mexico and back to the United States. 500-WORD PREVIEW

Down to the Wire

Thomas Bleha

Once a leader in Internet innovation, the United States has fallen far behind Japan and other Asian states in deploying broadband and the latest mobile-phone technology. This lag will cost it dearly. By outdoing the United States, Japan and its neighbors are positioning themselves to be the first states to reap the benefits of the broadband era: economic growth, increased productivity, and a better quality of life. FULL TEXT

Sisyphus as Social Democrat

J. Bradford DeLong

John Kenneth Galbraith's dazzling career as an economist and public intellectual has left an oddly thin legacy. A new biography sets out to explain why—tracing, in the process, the rise and fall of twentieth-century American liberalism. FULL TEXT

Recent Books

Each issue of Foreign Affairs includes dozens of capsule reviews of recently published books in the fields of international relations, diplomatic and military history, and related disciplines. Written by the specialists on our distinguished book review panel, thousands of capsule book reviews (dating back to 1973) are available in their full text on the Foreign Affairs Web site. This month: