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422. Risk and Reward: U.S. - E.U. Regulatory Cooperation on Food Safety and the Environment
- Author:
- David L. Aaron and C. Boyden Gray
- Publication Date:
- 11-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- In recent years, environmental protection and food safety have been among the most volatile issues in the U.S.-European relationship. While they are now overshadowed somewhat by the transatlantic debate over Iraq and other political and military matters, tensions over environment and food safety are just below the surface, and — if not addressed — w ill have enduring corrosive and divisive effects. Indeed, the current acrimony over these issues has contributed to concern about an erosion of shared transatlantic values and a deterioration in U.S.-European relations generally. Moreover, as recently demonstrated at the Johannesburg UN summit on sustainable development, the failure of the United States and Europe to work together on these issues does not just have bilateral consequences. It represents a significant lost opportunity to provide leadership in addressing environment and food safety on a global level. The United States and Europe have both been leaders in these areas — a fact that is overlooked far too often in the current debate. The impact of their current differences has been felt most concretely in the transatlantic trade arena, in a series of persistent disputes. But these differences represent far more than just another transatlantic trading issue. Unless they now find a way to reconcile their different perspectives and approaches, the United States and the European Union will miss real opportunities to work together in addressing global environmental and public health issues.
- Topic:
- Environment and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
423. The Twain Shall Meet: The Prospect for Russia - West Relations
- Author:
- Charles Grant, Christopher J. Makins, Sergey Rogov, Christoph Bertram, and Robert Nurick
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The integration of Russia into the West will be one of the most important, and most difficult, tasks facing the United States and Europe during the next decade. Yet a closer relationship with the West will be key to the development of Russian prosperity, democracy, and stability – achievements that will benefit the West as well as Russia. The attacks on September 11 and the resulting campaign against terrorism have given a decisive push to this effort, providing the political will for closer cooperation between Russia and the West.
- Topic:
- Development
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
424. New Capabilities: Transforming NATO Forces
- Author:
- C. Richard Nelson, Robert Hunter, and George Joulwan
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Of the three important topics on the agenda for the Prague summit – New Capabilities, New Members and New Relationships – the issue of “ new capabilities ” is particularly critical. How well this issue is handled will determine in large measure how members and others, particularly potential adversaries, think about NATO in the future.
- Topic:
- Security and NATO
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
425. Elusive Partnership: U.S. and European Policies in the Near East and the Gulf
- Author:
- Geoffrey Kemp, James Steinberg, Christopher J. Makins, Rita Hauser, J. Robinson West, Marc C. Ginsburg, and Craig Kennedy
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The current transatlantic relationship as it concerns the Middle East can only be understood in a broader context. The History of U.S.-European Relations on the Middle East. The affairs of the Middle East have been uniquely contentious between the principal European countries and the United States for over 50 years. This has derived primarily from differing approaches to the Arab-Israel problem. The 1990s were an unusual and short-lived interlude in this hi story of differences. The recent emergence of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and a growing awareness of a broader common European interest in the region based on history, proximity, trade, migration and the changing role of Islam, have prompted the European Union to engage increasingly in the region and to seek a position as a true partner for the United States and not just as 'a wallet.
- Topic:
- Security
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, and Middle East
426. Staying the Course: Limitations in U.S. -China Relations
- Author:
- Gen. Jack N. Merritt
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The People's Republic of China (PRC). As of mid-2002, the PRC's policy is to emphasize the positive, stressing its desire for an improved – and hopefully more stable – relationship with the United States. This policy reflects China's recognition of the need for stability at a time of many challenges. In the next few years, the PRC leadership will be seeking to extend economic reform and build prosperity beyond the limited areas in big cities and the eastern provinces that have made great strides in recent years. China will need to adjust the economy to the market-opening demands that World Trade Organization (WTO) membership will bring and it will face the problem of moving successfully over the next decade through a transition in leadership without compromising the continued power of the Party leadership group.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Asia
427. New Frontiers for U.S. - Japan Security Relations
- Author:
- Christopher J. Makins, L. Gordon Flake, and Akio Watanabe
- Publication Date:
- 02-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- A strong U.S.-Japan security alliance remains in dispensable to the interests of both partners in East Asia and beyond. Through strategic cooperation, both formal and informal, the United States and Japan can achieve international objectives that would otherwise be out of reach. Bilateral cooperation also contributes to the kind of stable, predictable relations on which the increasingly interdependent economies of the East Asian region depend.
- Topic:
- Security and International Cooperation
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, Israel, and East Asia
428. Managing Proliferation Issues with Iran
- Author:
- C. Richard Nelson and David H. Saltiel
- Publication Date:
- 01-2002
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Any government in Tehran will be inclined to seek weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and missile delivery options given the realities of its strategic environment. These weapons might help Iran to deter potential external threats, to achieve equality with other major regional powers armed with WMD, and to attain self-reliance in national security, given the isolating experience of arms embargoes. A more pluralist leadership in the future, however, may examine broader choices and trade-offs, and perhaps be less likely to cross key thresholds in WMD acquisition. In any event, Iran's WMD behavior is likely to be determined by both external factors, mainly the availability of crucial components, and internal factors, including calculations of costs, risks, and benefits. Among the benefits, psychological factors, such as prestige, will play an important role. Other important factors that might well shape Iran's WMD behavior include developments in Iraq, relations with the United States and other Gulf states, Israeli-Palestinian relations and the future price of oil.
- Topic:
- Security and Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iran, and Middle East
429. The Bulgarian Defense Industry
- Author:
- Curtis M. Coward and Jeffrey P. Bialos
- Publication Date:
- 07-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- This Report identifies strategic options available to the Bulgarian government and its defense industry, as well as the United States and its NATO partners, for transforming and repositioning the industry for the 21st century and facilitating its integration into the NATO and European Union industrial base. Since other Partnership for Peace (PfP) countries that are aspirants to NATO membership face similar difficulties concerning their defense industries, many of the recommendations herein apply to these countries as well. The report is based on numerous interviews with officials of government entities, private sector firms, and nongovernmental organizations and a review of pertinent governmental and private reports and original documents. A number of the members of the Atlantic Council's working group visited Bulgaria and several of its defense firms in April 2001. Given limitations of time and access to information, the report does not, however, attempt to set forth a thorough review of each firm in the Bulgarian industry.
- Topic:
- Security and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- United States and Eastern Europe
430. Thinking Beyond the Stalemate in U.S. - Iranian Relations, Volume I - Policy Review
- Author:
- Brent Scowcroft, C. Richard Nelson, Lee H. Hamilton, and James Shlesinger
- Publication Date:
- 05-2001
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- The current stalemate between the United States and Iran, while emotionally satisfying to many Americans, does not serve overall U.S. interests well. It hinders the achievement of several key U.S. geopolitical interests, especially over the longer term. These interests include, but are not limited to, regional stability, energy security, and the broader and evolving geopolitical relationships between the United States and China and Russia in the Persian Gulf and Caspian basin. Furthermore, the leading industrial countries are moving to improve relations with Iran.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Foreign Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, and Middle East