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35351. Bangladesh: Changing the Guard

Author:
Teresita C. Schaffer
Publication Date:
11-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
Begum Khaleda Zia scored a dramatic victory in the October 1 elections in Bangladesh, winning a historic two-thirds majority in parliament and continuing Bangladesh's 10-year pattern of changing the party in power with each election. Other countries and the business community will welcome early hints at a more flexible policy on natural gas, but not statements about renegotiating a water agreement with India. Outside observers will be watching most closely, however, for signs of Zia's approach to governance. The Awami League has reacted bitterly to its defeat, and dysfunctional relations between the government and the opposition are likely to continue.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
Bangladesh and South Asia

35352. India's Turbulent Northeast

Author:
Mandavi Mehta
Publication Date:
07-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:
India's northeastern corner and the neighboring countries embody some of the major demographic and environmental time bombs in the subcontinent. Instability in this region, which both India and China regard as strategically important, could provoke a disruptive Indian response or a serious deterioration in India-China relations, with a significant impact on the broader politics of the region. The last month brought two reminders of how volatile this area is: the murder of the King of Nepal and most of his family, and the violent protests in Manipur following India's extension of its ceasefire with the primary Naga insurgent group. This paper provides a thumbnail sketch of the players and the places involved in India's “northeast problems.”
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Economics, and Politics
Political Geography:
Pakistan, China, South Asia, India, and Nepal

35353. China And US Foreign Policy In The Asia-Pacific: Living With American Dominance

Author:
Mike Smith and Nicholas Khoo
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Since the end of the Second World War, US foreign policy towards the Asia-Pacific has been characterized by the assertion of American dominance. To this end, policy-makers in Washington have adopted a varied policy towards China. From 1950 to 1972, the US pursued a containment policy designed to thwart the revolutionary goals of Maoist foreign policy. Beginning with Nixon's rapprochement with Beijing in 1972, US policy was dramatically altered to meet the overriding goal of deterring the Soviet threat. The US and China actively cooperated to contain Soviet and Vietnamese influence in Northeast and Southeast Asia. The end of the Cold War, preceded shortly before by the Tiananmen massacre, saw another shift in the US position, whereby China was no longer looked upon with favour in Washington. Acting on his presidential campaign promises not to repeat George Bush Senior's policy of 'coddling dictators'in Beijing, President Clinton initially enacted a policy that explicitly linked China's human rights record to the renewal of most favoured- nation trade status with the US. When this linkage failed, a striking policy reversal occurred as the Clinton administration adopted an unrestrained engagement policy in which it eventually underplayed Sino-US differences in the spheres of trade, human rights, and strategic-military ties.
Topic:
Security and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States, China, America, Washington, Beijing, and Asia

35354. Ratifying The Kyoto Protocol: The Case For Japanese­Russian Joint Implementation

Author:
Benito Müller
Publication Date:
05-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
In direct reaction to President Bush's speedy reneging on a campaign pledge to set 'mandatory reduction targets' for carbon dioxide emissions from power generation (a mere 53 days into his presidency), Rainer Hinrichs-Rahlwes, Director General of the German Environment Ministry, admitted that 'maybe it will be necessary to ratify the Protocol without the US and to instead pave the way for them to join later'. Since then, this sentiment has been rapidly gaining ground internationally, in particular after President Bush unilaterally declared the failure of the Kyoto Protocol. Indeed, at a meeting in Kiruna (Sweden) on 31 March 2001, EU environment ministers pledged to pursue ratification of the treaty with or without the United States. Environment minister Kjell Larsson, for the Swedish Presidency, stated that 'the Kyoto Protocol is alive, contrary to what has been said from the other side of the Atlantic. No individual country has the right to declare a multilateral agreement dead.'
Topic:
Environment, International Law, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Russia, Japan, and Israel

35355. European Security And Defence Policy After Nice

Author:
Terry Terriff, Mark Webber, Stuart Croft, and Jolyon Howorth
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The Nice Summit will best be remembered for the eponymous treaty, designed to make the necessary institutional reforms to allow the European Union to enlarge, but progress in the sphere of security and defence is no less significant. Following changes that began at St Malo in 1998, the EU member states demonstrated their willingness to share the security burden with the United States. However, this apparently positive move has been greeted with caution at best, hostility at worst in the US, where the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) is sometimes portrayed as a threat to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). What has enabled the EU to produce a common policy on security and defence after decades of failure? What are the prospects for ESDP? What are the implications for the Atlantic Alliance?
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

35356. From Rio To Johannesburg:The Earth Summit And Rio + 10

Author:
Duncan Brack, Fanny Calder, and Muge Dolun
Publication Date:
03-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) – the 'Earth Summit' – took place in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992. Unprecedented in size and scope, Rio resulted in a number of important agreements including Agenda 21, two new conventions and the foundation of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. Among these Agenda 21 has a particularly important role in defining sustainable development and providing a blueprint for change. Within the next two years the world will be preparing for the tenth-year review of the Rio Conference, which will lead to the World Summit on Sustainable Development – 'Rio+10'.
Topic:
Environment, International Law, and Science and Technology

35357. Governing Multinationals: The Role Of Foreign Direct Liability

Author:
Halina Ward
Publication Date:
02-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The business of global governance is set to become one of the key international policy issues of the twenty-first century. The governance of global business is one of the most difficult action points in this agenda. New issues are still emerging, not least among them a discussion on whether there is a need for tougher transnational regulation of multinational corporations. This Briefing Paper outlines the implications of one way of enforcing corporate environmental, social and human rights standards across borders: 'foreign direct liability'.
Topic:
International Law, International Political Economy, and International Trade and Finance

35358. Environmental Security In Central Asia

Author:
Stuart Horsman
Publication Date:
01-2001
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
The summer of 2000 witnessed a drought that decimated crops throughout Central Asia. Previously, Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev raised the spectre of water-inspired insecurity in Central Asia, and in March an OSCE delegation visited the Central Asian republics to discuss water management issues.
Topic:
Security, Environment, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
Kazakhstan and Asia

35359. A Recruiting Tape of Osama bin Laden: Excerpts and Analyses

Author:
Richard W. Bulliet and Fawaz A. Gerges
Publication Date:
10-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
For several months prior to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, a videotape calling Muslims to a holy war against forces described as Crusaders and Jews circulated underground in the Arab world. Produced on behalf of Osama bin Laden and prominently featuring his image, words, and ideas, the tape is designed to recruit young Arab men to journey to Afghanistan and train for a war in defense of Islam.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Diplomacy, Ethnic Conflict, Government, International Cooperation, International Law, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, United Kingdom, Middle East, and Arabia

35360. Decision-Making and Crisis Management in The Cuban Missile Affair

Author:
Anouar Boukhars
Publication Date:
04-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
In what was the most serious "clash" during the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union came dangerously close to cataclysmic confrontation when the Soviets in an unprecedented dangerous move had begun a clandestine effort to establish a major offensive military presence in Castro's Cuba in October 1962. This potentially dreadful incident brought policy makers on both sides to seriously question their use of diplomacy and military force. Had it not been for the wisdom of the leaders of the two antagonistic countries, the US and the Soviet Union, no one could have speculated the harm that could have been inflicted on the whole world. This paper will therefore try to examine how the Cuban Missile Crisis came about and how well it was managed by the US and the Soviets political leadership. It will address the importance of the national security decision making in preventing this crisis from degenerating into a tragedy.
Topic:
Cold War
Political Geography:
United States