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4871. Feeding the Future: Food Security for Peace and Prosperity

Author:
Jonathan Shrier
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Nearly a billion people in the world go hungry on a daily basis. The global population is expected to increase to exceed nine billion by 2050, requiring a 60 percent increase in food production. The consequences are undeniable. Already, undernutrition contributes to the deaths of 2.6 million children every year, and is responsible for a third of all deaths of children under the age of five. An inadequate diet during critical windows of development can cost survivors up to ten percent of their lifetime earnings due to decreased cognitive and physical capacity, and the problem can cost countries up to two to three percent of their GDP annually.
Topic:
Food

4872. The Significance of the African Union to the United States Strategy Objectives

Author:
Michael A. Battle, Sr.
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
In June 14, 2012 President Obama signed a new Presidential Policy Directive (PPD) for Sub-Saharan Africa which sets forth the US Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa. This new PPD is a logical follow up to the historic speech President Obama presented to the Ghanaian Parliament three years ago in which the President stated that Africa is a fundamental part of our interconnected world and called for a partnership with Africa that is “grounded in mutual responsibility and mutual respect.” President Obama, Secretary Clinton, Assistant Secretary for African Affairs Carson and the entire US diplomatic team have taken a whole of government approach in being intentional about the fact that our role is to support the African continent in strengthening democratic institutions, spurring economic growth, trade and investment, advancing peace and security, and promoting opportunity and development.
Political Geography:
Africa and United States

4873. Terrorism Franchised: Al-Qaeda as Autonomous Imitation and Al-Shabaab as Proto-Caliphate

Author:
Daniel Lewis
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
If ideologies that inspire violence are not overcome by force of persuasion, they will only be overcome by force of arms. Al-Qaeda's ideas continue to take root in new and diverse soil. Where they do, violence, destabilization, and devastation are the predictable results. During the last eleven years, America and her allies have waged war on al-Qaeda the organization. War has not been waged on al-Qaeda the idea. The result has crippled al -Qaeda's tactical cap abilities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but has allowed for its transnational presence to flourish. To engage al-Qaeda the idea, the foremost warriors needed are state and public diplomats whose weapons are far more subtle than bombs and bullets.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, and America

4874. Conversations and Comments on the State of Public Diplomacy at State – A View from the Bottom Up

Author:
Nicholas J.C. Snyder
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
What is Public Diplomacy? What does it mean to be a “Public Diplomacy officer?” Who should be doing Public Diplomacy in the US government and how is it best done? Why does Public Diplomacy (known far and wide as “PD”) still have a mixed record, despite years of effort and attention? How is the State Department addressing the many changes that new media have brought?
Topic:
Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States

4875. Serbia Today: The Road Ahead

Author:
Mary Burce Warlick
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Today's Serbia is a country that has made significant progress since the wars that led to the disintegration of Yugoslavia at the end of the last century. Though more than a decade of isolation left it markedly behind many of its regional neighbors, Serbia has now returned to a position of regional leadership. Though many challenges remain, the country's European aspirations are now supported by more than 90 percent of the newly-elected Parliamentarians who will set the course for the coming years. The outgoing government deserves accolades for helping Serbia move closer to European Union membership but also left significant tasks for the new government to address. The road ahead will not be easy and our multi-faceted engagement is designed to help Serbia reach its European aspirations while steadfastly representing our interests in foreign policy and the economic arena.
Political Geography:
Europe, Yugoslavia, and Serbia

4876. United States-Icelandic Relations

Author:
Luis Arreaga
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Olafur Ragnar Grimsson comfortably won Iceland's June 30 Presidential election and is now beginning a record fifth four-year term. Grimsson is a political dynamo who had a career in the parliament, as an academic and newspaper editor prior to winning the presidency in 1996. As president, Grimsson has been an indefatigable advocate for Iceland on the international stage and has helped his country promote its expertise in renewable energy and ensure Iceland's voice is heard on issues affecting the Arctic.
Political Geography:
United States and Iceland

4877. The Pilgrims Society: A Special Relationship Between Great Britain and the United States

Author:
William J. vanden Heuvel
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
One hundred and ten years ago, on the eve of his coronation, Edward VII had appendicitis. The coronation was postponed for six weeks. In those days, ocean travel was the only transportation link between Great Britain and its former colony. Many Americans were in London for the coronation—an event that they had never seen since Queen Victoria's reign had lasted 64 years—so during this unplanned interval, they had lunches, and dinners, and dinners and lunches—and at one of them, on the very eve of the Royal event, a hundred Englishmen and Americans who saw in the greater alliance of their two countries the possibilities of a better world, forged the structure of the Pilgrims Society, an organization to exist separately in London and New York with the mutual purpose of “promoting the brotherhood among nations especially the United States and the British Empire.” In its illustrious history, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Reigning Sovereigns have praised the Pilgrims Society's role as an advocate of the Special Relationship between Britain and America.
Political Geography:
Britain, New York, America, and London

4878. Turkish-Saudi Arabian Relations During the Arab Uprisings: Towards a Strategic Partnership?

Author:
Muhittin Ataman
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This article analyzes the development of Turkish-Saudi Arabian relations from the beginning of the struggle of the al-Saud family to gain power in the Arab peninsula to today. As a result of negative perceptions from both sides, bilateral relations were distant for decades. However, Turkish-Saudi relations began to improve remarkably under the AK Party and King Abdullah governments and a rapprochement started in 2005. Many agreements were signed during visits by political leaders from both sides. After the Arab uprisings began at the end of 2010, both countries took their cooperation further. As the two countries least influenced by the uprisings, Turkey and the Saudi Kingdom have been supporting the newly emerging political elites (Islamic groups) in Egypt, Libya and Syria; they have been maintaining close relations with the Western countries; and they have been trying to preserve regional stability and balance against Iran and its allies. However, there are some differences in their regional policies, such as their perceptions on the pace and scope of changes.
Topic:
Development
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and Sinai Peninsula

4879. Editor's Note

Author:
İhsan Dağı
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
The Syrian crisis is deepening. Pro-Assad forces have so far killed more than 30,000 Syrians; hundreds of thousands have fled to neighboring countries. The refugees settled in Turkey have exceeded 100,000, the threshold figure that Turkey had already declared as its limit that it can provide services to.
Political Geography:
Turkey and Syria

4880. Turkish-Iranian Relations: From "Friends with Benefits" to "It's Complicated"

Author:
Philipp C. Bleek and Aaron Stein
Publication Date:
11-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
A few years after Turkey and Iran appeared to be growing closer, the pendulum has swung back and the two sides are increasingly at odds. The turmoil in Syria has brought the long-term competition between Ankara and Tehran for regional influence to the fore. Iran has doubled down on its wager that the current regime in Damascus can weather the storm, while Turkey is betting that a post-Assad Syria would be more closely aligned with its own regional interests. But despite significant differences and growing antagonism, over Syria and more broadly, Turkey and Iran still have substantial reasons to cooperate. These include mutual interests in dealing with restive Kurdish populations and robust trade, particularly Turkey's reliance on Iranian oil and gas. History suggests that Ankara and Damascus will find ways to manage tensions, so the rivalry for regional influence is more likely to simmer than boil over into outright conflict. The Turkish-Iranian relationship will continue to resist simplistic caricatures.
Political Geography:
Iran, Turkey, and Syria