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1251. Southeast Asian-Pacific Frameworks: What Do They Frame and What Work Do They Do?

Author:
Donald Emmerson
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center
Abstract:
Although these pages feature Southeast Asia, our topic is spatially far-flung. Pictured as sets of participating countries highlighted on a map of the world, regional and interregional frameworks that include some or all of Southeast Asia run a vast and complex gamut of partly concentric and partly overlapping yet distinctive and sometimes changing memberships or attendances. MALSINDO spans three contiguous Southeast Asian states. ASEAN encompasses all ten. ASEM is inter-regional. FPDA offers a fourth pattern, linking as it does two adjacent Southeast Asian countries with three distant partners—two in the far-southern Pacific, one in far-western Europe. The hub-and-spoke dialogue arrangements known collectively as ASEAN Plus One illustrate a fifth schema.
Topic:
International Relations and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Asia, Australia/Pacific, and Southeast Asia

1252. Interview with Shashi Tharoor, UN Under-Secretary General for Communications and Public Information

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Well it all depends, of course, on how people react to internal experience. I obviously see this as a major asset because I spent 28 years in the United Nations system in a wide variety of activities. I have worked for refugees and humanitarian operations, as well as in peacekeeping at the end of the Cold War; in the Secretary-General's own office, where I've seen his work at close quarters, and then in the management of a rather large department which I have essentially been able to reform.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Diplomacy, and United Nations

1253. Torben Gettermann on the Danish Cartoon Controversy

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
In this interview, Torben Gettermann, the Consul General of Denmark to New York, discusses the controversy over the publication of cartoons depicting caricatures of Prophet Mohammad in the Danish Jyllands-Posten. Mr Gettermann entered the Danish Foreign Service in 1980. He has had postings in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Hungary, among others. Prior to arriving in New York in September 2005, Mr Gettermann served as Denmark's Ambassador in Baghdad, Iraq. This interview was conducted prior to the Asia Society event Not a Laughing Matter: Behind the Danish Cartoon Controversy on March 22, 2006.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
New York and Europe

1254. José Ramos-Horta on Reconciliation in East Timor

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
José Ramos-Horta, the Foreign Minister of East Timor, was a leading figure in the country's liberation movement. Mr Ramos-Horta lived in exile for the duration of the Indonesian occupation, during which time he also served as the Permanent Representative to the UN of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin). In 1996, Mr Ramos-Horta was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with his compatriot, Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo. In granting the prize, the Nobel Committee highlighted their 'sustained efforts to hinder the oppression of a small people', hoping that 'this award will spur efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the conflict of East Timor based on the people's right to self- determination." The Committee considers José Ramos Horta "the leading international spokesman for East Timor's cause since 1975." Mr Ramos-Horta has been foreign minister since East Timor's independence in 2002
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Southeast Asia

1255. Soft Power, Hard Issues: Reports of the 2005 Aspen Institute Roundtable on Public Diplomacy and the Middle East and the Forum on Communications and Society

Author:
Shanthi Kalathil
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
Having lapsed in importance following the end of the Cold War, public diplomacy has reemerged as a focal point for policymakers, scholars, and practitioners. Particularly following the attacks of September 11, 2001, American public diplomacy in the Middle East has rocketed to a place of prominence in the U.S. foreign policy toolkit. Yet even as resources and attention are trained on refining the U.S. public diplomacy strategy, there is little consensus on core problems, effective solutions, and what success might tangibly look like.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States, China, Middle East, Asia, and Arabia

1256. Generating Momentum for a New Era in U.S.-Turkey Relations

Author:
Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall and Stephen Cook
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The growing schism between the West and the Islamic world is one of the primary challenges confronting American foreign and defense policymakers. As a consequence, the relationship between the United States and Turkey—a Western-oriented, democratizing Muslim country—is strategically more important than ever. Turkey has the potential to be an invaluable partner as Washington endeavors to chart an effective course in its relations with the Muslim world. However, to achieve this level of cooperation, U.S.-Turkey relations must be repaired and modernized.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States, America, Washington, Turkey, and North America

1257. U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation

Author:
Michael Levi and Charles Ferguson
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The United States has long sought to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and to build a relationship with India, a rising power but a nuclear pariah since it first exploded an atomic bomb in 1974. In announcing a sweeping negotiated framework for nuclear cooperation with India on July 18, 2005, followed by an agreement on details on March 2, 2006, the Bush administration has stirred deep passions and put Congress in the seemingly impossible bind of choosing between approving the deal and damaging nuclear nonproliferation, or rejecting the deal and thereby setting back an important strategic relationship. Yet patience and a few simple fixes would address major proliferation concerns while ultimately strengthening the strategic partnership—provided Congress and the administration work together.
Topic:
International Relations and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States, India, Asia, and North America

1258. Challenges for a Postelection Mexico: Issues for U.S. Policy

Author:
Pamela K. Starr
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
After two decades of profound yet incomplete economic and political reforms, Mexico stands at a crossroads. Its economy is now one of the most open to international trade and capital flows among emerging markets, in stark contrast to the insular development model on which Mexico relied for more than half a century. Mexico also carried out a transition to democratic politics during the last decade, after seventy-one years under single-party, authoritarian rule. Many commentators heralded the 2000 election of an opposition leader to the presidency as the capstone of this process, but it was only one important step in a long, gradual transition. President Vicente Fox promised additional steps that would consolidate previous economic and political advances and place the country on an irreversible path to becoming a fully competitive market democracy. The last six years in Mexico have been characterized instead by political stalemate, leaving an unfinished agenda of structural change that is essential for long-term economic growth, job creation, and the deepening of democratic practices.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States and Mexico

1259. Making a Difference - Why and how Europe should increase its engagement in Ukraine

Author:
Arkady Moshes
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
The fate of the transformation in Ukraine is important for Europe. If successful, Ukraine could positively affect the prospect of the systemic change in Russia and would serve as a linchpin of democratization and stabilization in the region stretching from Belarus to the Caspian Sea. A reformed and economically transparent Ukraine could play a significant role in Europe's strategy of diversifying its energy supplies. Since the Orange revolution, Ukraine has demonstrated progress in its reforms. The parliamentary elections in March 2006 confi rmed that the majority of the population remained supportive of further change. All in all, the country has a fair chance of succeeding. At the same time, the challenges are many and the transformation could still fail or stall, particularly if in Europe the reforms are viewed predominantly as a domestic Ukrainian issue, a “homework” rather than as a joint endeavour. European engagement in Ukraine should increase further. Europe could do more to transfer its expertise in transition and adaptation, to help Ukraine address its energy concerns and to make sure that the bilateral relations go beyond cooperation and develop into an integration pattern. Depending on the progress made, the question of Ukraine's EU membership might have to be addressed sooner or later as it has proved to be the most powerful tool for transformation.
Topic:
Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Europe and Ukraine

1260. Turkey and the EU - Four Scenarios: From Train Crash to Full Steam Ahead

Author:
Kirsty Hughes
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Chatham House
Abstract:
Security of natural gas supplies has resurfaced on the European energy agenda because of concerns about an anticipated rapid increase in dependence on imports from non-European suppliers–from one-third to two-thirds of demand–over the next 20 years. On a national basis, European import dependence is already an established fact: nine out of 33 European countries are more than 95% dependent on imports; only five are self-sufficient or net exporters.
Topic:
Diplomacy
Political Geography:
Europe, Turkey, and Middle East