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34951. NATO Enlargement: Moving Forward

Author:
Philip H Gordon and James B Steinberg
Publication Date:
12-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The question of whether and how to expand the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) membership is one of the many important U.S. foreign policy issues that must be seen in a new light following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Prior to those attacks, there were strong indications coming from Washington that the Bush administration was planning to support a wide enlargement, notwithstanding strong opposition from Russia and from longstanding domestic opponents of the process. Many of those opponents will now argue even more forcefully that NATO enlargement should be put off or stopped altogether, particularly because Russian cooperation in the war on terrorism is now so crucial.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, Europe, and Washington

34952. Indonesia at the Crossroads

Author:
Catharin E Dalpino
Publication Date:
09-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Indonesia's fragile new democracy is threatened by political turmoil, prolonged economic crisis, and a serious upswing in internal violence. The July inauguration of President Megawati Sukarnoputri as president is not a panacea for any of these problems, but it offers Indonesia the opportunity to make crucial mid-course corrections in its move out of authoritarian rule and economic collapse. In this regard, early indications from Jakarta are mixed.
Topic:
Democratization, Government, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Indonesia and Southeast Asia

34953. Beyond Missile Defense

Author:
Michael O'Hanlon
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
President Bush is correct in his assertion that the United States and its allies should eventually be prepared to defend themselves against long-range ballistic missile attack. He has also been wise to declare the current Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty inappropriate for the modern era, and to leave no doubt in the minds of allies, neutrals, or enemies that his administration intends to move beyond the treaty and build a missile defense system when prudent and possible. However, there are dangers in the Bush administration's apparent approach to protecting the American homeland. The plan—though not yet complete—may focus somewhat myopically on the ballistic missile threat, while largely ignoring other, equally imminent dangers.
Topic:
Terrorism and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States and America

34954. America and Iran: From Containment to Coexistence

Author:
Suzanne Maloney
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The enduring estrangement between the United States and Iran represents the central paradox for American policy in the Persian Gulf. The world has changed dramatically since the 1979 Islamic Revolution gave rise to a religious government in Tehran and ruptured U.S.-Iranian relations. Those changes have been felt even within Iran's revolutionary politics, through the ascendance of a popular reform movement crystallized by moderate president Mohammad Khatami's 1997 election. This development prompted an abatement in comprehensive U.S. sanctions and fueled expectations of rapprochement.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States, America, Iran, and Middle East

34955. A Patent Policy Proposal for Global Diseases

Author:
Jean O Lanjouw
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
We are in the midst of a dramatic extension of the global reach of the patent system. Until recently, in an effort to keep their prices low, many developing countries did not grant patents on new pharmaceutical products. Today, however, most countries have extended their patent laws to include pharmaceutical innovations, and in order to fulfill World Trade Organization membership requirements, the rest will soon follow.
Topic:
Civil War, Development, Human Welfare, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements

34956. Open Doors

Author:
Paul Masson, Michael Pomerleano, and Robert E Litan
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Foreign direct investment in financial firms in emerging markets surged in the 1990s, although not equally in all places. The main beneficiaries: Latin America and Central Europe, with Asia a distant third. This conference report summarizes findings on the impacts—mainly positive—of this significant inflow of funds and managerial and technical know-how, as well as recommendations for policies toward foreign direct investment (FDI) in the future. The main recommendation: countries with restrictions generally should relax them, even when their own financial systems are weak. At the same time, foreign entry gives rise to new policy challenges, supervisory and competitive, which emerging markets need to confront both unilaterally and with cooperation from source country governments.
Topic:
Emerging Markets, International Trade and Finance, and Third World
Political Geography:
Asia, Latin America, and Central Europe

34957. Moving Forward in South Asia

Author:
Stephen P Cohen
Publication Date:
05-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The key to an effective American policy in South Asia is the deepening of Washington's engagement with India and Pakistan. India is an emerging major power and Pakistan, despite its internal economic and political problems, is also a significant state. Besides reengaging these states in strategic terms, Washington should overhaul current regional sanctions policy, seeking in return Indian and Pakistani compliance with missile and nuclear proliferation regimes, and should assist them in reducing the risk of accidental nuclear detonation and missile launches.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Pakistan, United States, America, South Asia, Washington, and India

34958. The Caucasus and Central Asia

Author:
Fiona Hill
Publication Date:
05-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Caspian Basin and the surrounding states of the Caucasus and Central Asia have crept from obscurity onto the U.S. foreign policy agenda. While the individual countries of the two regions may not be of vital interest to the United States, the countries that border them are. Four have nuclear weapons, one is an important NATO ally, and two are states that have posed direct challenges to U.S. security by their support for terrorist movements.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States and Central Asia

34959. Corruption and Globalization

Author:
Shang-Jin Wei
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
At least since the Asian financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has, from time to time, included transparency and anti-corruption measures as part of the conditions for countries to borrow its funds. Because of this, it has been criticized as having overstepped its mandate, or even having made crises worse in countries the IMF is supposed to help.
Topic:
Development, Economics, Globalization, and Third World
Political Geography:
Asia

34960. Stemming the Backlash Against Globalization

Author:
Carol Graham
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
There is much speculation about a new round of protests at the upcoming meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The protestors contend that globalization is bad for poor people in poor countries. But the evidence suggests the opposite: that globalization provides the poor in developing countries with new opportunities for upward mobility. Yet it also introduces new vulnerabilities, particularly for those in the middle income strata, which cause even the upwardly mobile in these strata to negatively assess their economic progress. We propose three sets of policies for poor countries — increasing access to higher levels and better quality education, eliminating market distortions that block the upward mobility of the poor (including excessive levels of inequality), and providing more broadly available safety nets for people without steady incomes — that could help prevent these negative sentiments from growing into a broader backlash against globalization, which would ultimately hurt the poor in these countries the most.
Topic:
Development, Globalization, Human Welfare, and Third World