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1331. Asia Society Center on US-China Relations Launch with Henry Kissinger and Orville Schell

Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
RICHARD HOLBROOKE: My name is Richard Holbrooke. I'm the Chairman of Asia Society and we welcome you to a very special, indeed we hope historic, evening in the fifty year history of the Asia Society. But before I make any other remarks I want to welcome just a handful of the many very distinguished guests in the room. We have Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Chris Hill here, who many of you may have seen on television today and is on his way back to Beijing to continue the six party talks with the North Koreans. And we welcome him. We have the Consul General from New York of the People's Republic of China here in New York, Ambassador Liu. The acting ambassador in Washington from China, Ambassador Jian and Mrs. Jian and the Counselor of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations and many, many other distinguished people.
Topic:
International Relations and Development
Political Geography:
United States, China, New York, Washington, Beijing, East Asia, Asia, and North Korea

1332. Exclusive AsiaSource Interview with Ambassador Javad Zarif, Iranian Permanent Representative to the UN

Author:
Nermeen Shaikh
Publication Date:
02-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Asia Society
Abstract:
Ambassador Javad Zarif presented his credentials as the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 5 August 2002 to the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Dr. Zarif is a career diplomat and has served in different senior positions in the Iranian Foreign Ministry and at various international organizations. His responsibility from 1992 until his appointment as Permanent Represetative was Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs.
Topic:
International Relations, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Iran and Middle East

1333. China's March on the 21st Century

Author:
Kurt M. Campbell and Willow Darsie
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Aspen Institute
Abstract:
After a protracted period of uncertainty concerning the nature of the foreign policy challenges that are likely to confront the nation over the course of first half of the 21st century, twin challenges are now coming into sharper relief. For the next generation or more, Americans will be confronted by two overriding (and possibly overwhelming) challenges in the conduct of American foreign policy: how to more effectively wage a long, twilight struggle against violent Islamic fundamentalists, and at the same time cope with the almost certain rise to great power status of China.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
United States, China, America, and Asia

1334. Climate Change and National Security: An Agenda for Action

Author:
Joshua W. Busby
Publication Date:
11-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, Americans witnessed on their own soil what looked like an overseas humanitarian-relief operation. The storm destroyed much of the city, causing more than $80 billion in damages, killing more than 1,800 people, and displacing in excess of 270,000. More than 70,000 soldiers were mobilized, including 22,000 active duty troops and 50,000-plus members of the National Guard (about 10 percent of the total Guard strength). Katrina also had severe effects on critical infrastructure, taking crude oil production and refinery capacity off-line for an unprecedented length of time. At a time when the United States was conducting military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, the country suddenly had to divert its attention and military resources to respond to a domestic emergency.
Topic:
International Relations, Climate Change, and Development
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, and America

1335. Toward an Angola Strategy

Author:
Vincent A. Mai, Frank G. Wisner, William L. Nash, and ArthurMark Rubin
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
Outside the continent's crisis areas, few African countries are more important to U.S. interests than Angola. The second-largest oil producer in Africa, Angola's success or failure in transitioning from nearly thirty years of war toward peace and democracy has implications for the stability of the U.S. oil supply as well as the stability of central and southern Africa. Consequently, the United States has an interest in helping Angola address its numerous and significant national challenges.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Angola

1336. U.S.-China Relations

Author:
Dennis C. Blair, Carla A. Hills, and Frank Sampson Jannuzi
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
President Richard M. Nixon reached out to the People's Republic of China thirty-five years ago to advance U.S. strategic interests by balancing the Soviet Union and reinforcing the split between two former communist allies. Nixon and his national security adviser, Henry Kissinger, briefed the Chinese on Soviet forces arrayed against China and also discussed the Vietnam War and Taiwan. Nixon and Kissinger sought to change the global U.S. stance from confrontation to détente and to extricate the United States from the Vietnam War. Their mission shifted the globe's geopolitical landscape.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
United States, China, Asia, and Vietnam

1337. The United States and the WTO Dispute Settlement System

Author:
Robert Z. Lawrence
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
The United States likes to think of itself as a nation that abides by its treaties and commitments. Successive U.S. administrations have taken the obligations implied by international agreements seriously: They have opted out of parts of many agreements for fear that compliance would be contrary to U.S. interests, and have refused outright to sign some treaties on the grounds of potential legal exposure. But U.S. behavior toward the World Trade Organization is different; in this case, the United States has been quite willing to accept binding multilateral rules. Yet, the United States has also been repeatedly judged to be in violation of its WTO commitments by the organization's dispute settlement panels, and although some violations could be ascribed to uncertainties about the meaning of the rules, the United States is also guilty of disregarding the rules deliberately. Opinion in Congress sometimes encourages this behavior; legislators are less likely to question the legitimacy of U.S. conduct than to question the WTO's authority to pass judgment over the United States. Moreover, these tensions are likely to escalate if the Doha Round of global trade negotiations breaks down. If the diplomatic route to market access is blocked, trading partners will seek access to U.S. consumers by bringing more cases before the WTO's tribunals. A surge in such cases could increase resentment of the WTO in the United States, weakening America's commitment to its traditional postwar role as the bulwark of the international trading system. This would be unfortunate, because even without changes in the behavior of its trading partners, the rules of the WTO improve the performance of the U.S. economy.
Topic:
International Relations, International Trade and Finance, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States and America

1338. Profiling Normative Foreign Policy: The European Union and its Global Partners

Author:
Nathalie Tocci
Publication Date:
12-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
This paper is the first in a series that will investigate “Who is a normative foreign policy actor?” It forms part of a new project intended to explore fundamental aspects of foreign policy at the global level, against the backdrop of a proliferation of global actors in the 21st century, following half a century with only one undisputed global hegemon: the US. The European Union is itself a new or emerging foreign policy actor, driven by self-declared normative principles. But Russia, China and India are also increasingly assertive actors on the global stage and similarly claim to be driven by a normative agenda. The question is how will these various global actors define their foreign policy priorities, and how they will interact, especially if their ideas of normative behaviour differ? This first paper sets out a conceptual framework for exploring these issues and defines 'normative' as being strongly based on international law and institutions, and thus the most 'universalisable' basis upon which to assess foreign policy. The foreign policy actor nevertheless has to be assessed not only on its declared goals, but also on the means it employs and the results it obtains. The truly normative foreign policy actor should score consistently on all three counts and in many different contexts, which will condition the extent to which normative policies are chosen, viable and effective. Subsequent papers in the series will apply this conceptual framework to five case studies on China, the EU, India, Russia and the US.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe, India, France, and Berkeley

1339. EU Policy in the South Causasus: A View from Azerbaijan

Author:
Elkhan Nuriyev
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Since the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU in January 2007, the South Caucasus has become a region of direct concern to the EU's strategy in its wider neighbourhood. This study examines the trends affecting EU policies in the South Caucasus, with a specific focus on EU–Azerbaijan relations. It argues that in the three main areas in which Azerbaijan affects Europe's interests – cooperation in the energy sector, democratisation and conflict resolution – so far the EU has engaged well on a regional energy strategy, but less so on democratic reforms and almost not at all on conflict settlement in Nagorno Karabakh. The study concludes that the EU needs to balance its involvement in all three areas, especially given the deeper democratic changes it wishes to see in Azerbaijan, with a list of recommendations for doing so.
Topic:
International Relations and Foreign Policy
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Asia, and Azerbaijan

1340. Is Europe back on track? Impetus from the German EU Presidency

Author:
Sebastien Kurpas and Henning Riecke
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies
Abstract:
Rarely has an EU Presidency been met with such high expectations as Germany's in the first half of 2007. With hindsight, it might be said that these expectations have largely been fulfilled. The agreement on a detailed mandate for the upcoming Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) under the Portuguese Presidency now offers a way forward for a Union that has been 'in crisis' since the French and Dutch no-votes. This report offers an overview of the German Presidency's aims in the various policy areas and makes an assessment of the achievements of its six-month term. A summary of the content and structural background of German EU policy is given, explaining developments since unification, Germany's motivations for European integration, public opinion on European integration and the stances taken by the key political players in Germany. Insight into the organisational structures of the Presidency appears in the annex.
Topic:
International Relations and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Middle East