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5811. An Interview with Álvaro Uribe Vélez

Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
I never thought that Colombia was a failing state, but during my first month as president, I was surprised by many international analysts. For example, people from the World Bank and other multilateral agencies came to see me saying, “Be careful because Colombia is becoming a failing state.” Colombia has long been a democratic state. The failures of the 1980s and 1990s were not because of our state but because of the advancement of terrorist groups attempting to defeat our democratic institutions in many areas of the country. By the mid-20th century, Colombia's traditional political parties—the Colombian Conservative Party and Colombian Liberal Party—came to terms, putting an end to their historic violent confrontation.
Political Geography:
Colombia

5812. Hybrid Warfare and Transnational Threats: Perspectives for an Era of Persistent Conflict

Author:
John Arquilla
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
There are over 20 armed conflicts under way around the world today—and none of them are straightforward conventional clashes. To be sure, there are recognizable battle lines in some places, such as Somalia, where al-Shabaab fighters contend against central government and intervening foreign forces. But much of the violence there is irregular as well, with hit-and-run raiding, piracy, and acts of outright terrorism forming part of the mix. Such a roiling brew—conventional fighting, guerrilla tactics, terror, and strategic crime—is the prototypical kind of “hybrid war” addressed in this remarkable volume.
Political Geography:
Somalia

5813. Victory for Hire: Private Security Companies' Impact on Military Effectiveness

Author:
T.X. Hammes
Publication Date:
06-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
PRISM
Institution:
Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
Abstract:
In his January 24, 2011, memorandum entitled “Strategic and Operational Planning for Operational Contract Support (OCS) and Workforce Mix,” Secretary of Defense Robert Gates stated: At the height of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM, contractor numbers well exceeded the military footprint; a similar situation is occurring in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. I do not expect this to change now or in future contingency operations.

5814. The China Card: Playing Politics with Sino-American Relations

Author:
Peter Trubowitz and Jungkun Seo
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Perhaps no country will figure more prominently in America's future than China. China's rapid ascent is already an issue on Capitol Hill, and with over 50 percent of Americans worried about the implications of China's rise for the United States, relations with China are a hot-button electoral issue. Indeed, the 2010 midterm election campaign witnessed a flurry of anti-Chinese television ads, linking America's economic troubles to China's emergence as an economic powerhouse. The most memorable of these was the so-called Chinese Professor ad, which depicted a China-dominated future in which confident Chinese intellectuals chuckle over America's relative decline. Alarmed by the spread of "Sinophobia," China responded in early 2011 by launching its own media blitz in the United States, hoping to soften its image among American voters.
Political Geography:
United States, China, and America

5815. Skeletons in White House Closets: A Discussion of Modern Presidential Scandals

Author:
Brandon Rottinghaus and Scott Basinger
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Undoubtedly, we live in a period of media-stoked scandal. Actorsʼ and actressesʼ substance abuse, arrests, affairs, divorces, racially insensitive remarks, and indiscretions dominate entertainment news. Athletesʼ steroid abuse, drunk-driving arrests, extra-marital affairs, and extra-legal enterprises feature prominently in sports news. We should hardly be surprised to also find political news filled with scandals. Countless stories have addressed one governorʼs attempt to sell vacant Senate seats, anotherʼs international trips for extra-marital trysts, and anotherʼs penchant for escorts. Presidential candidates have been caught having affairs, fathering children out of wedlock, and raising “slush funds” of cash for personal expenses. Executive branch and judicial nominees have been exposed for cheating on their taxes, cheating on their spouses, sexually harassing their staffs, and hiring undocumented workers. Members of Congress have been caught accepting bribes, employing escorts, sexually harassing pages and staff members, and engaging in embarrassing communications online.
Political Geography:
United States and Washington

5816. The Demise of the PLO: Neither Diaspora nor Statehood

Author:
Hillel Frisch
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
As Fatah and Hamas continuously fail to come to an agreement over the issues between them, it is quite clear that the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), which is responsible for catapulting the Palestinian issue into international prominence, has ceased to exist. Not only does it not maintain an Internet site, its popular body, the Palestinian National Council (PNC), which is meant to convene every two years, has not met officially since 1996, and since 1991, according to Hamas and other Palestinian factions opposed to Muhammad Abbas, its titular head. There is a need to understand the implications of the demise of the PLO, an institution that once loomed large in Middle Eastern and world politics.
Topic:
Politics
Political Geography:
Middle East and Palestine

5817. Rethinking the Development of Legitimate Party Opposition in the United States, 1793–1828

Author:
Jeffrey S. Selinger
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Writing in 1813 to his old friend and political adversary Thomas Jefferson, John Adams vividly described the scene in Philadelphia when the French Revolutionary Wars broke out: “You certainly never felt the Terrorism excited by Genêt, in 1793, when ten thousand People in the Streets of Philadelphia, day after day threatened to drag Washington out of his House, and effect a Revolution in the Government, or compell it to declare War in favour of the French Revolution and against England.”1 Adams andWashington had witnessed firsthand this “terrorism” incited by Edmond Genêt, Foreign Minister from France, and it powerfully influenced their appraisal of the risks political parties and other extra-constitutional amalgamations posed to the young Republic. Just a few years after the Genêt Affair, President George Washington issued his often-quoted Farewell Address, in which he admonished the American people to avoid foreign entanglements and be wary of the “baneful effects of the spirit of party.”2 These two recommendations went hand-in-hand: political parties, in Washingtonʼs view, would only continue to polarize a polity divided by foreign war.3 The first President was particularly suspicious of the Jeffersonian Republican Party, which he believed had encouraged Francophile partisans to take up arms in support of the French revolutionary struggle against Britain and other powers.
Topic:
Security and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Washington, France, and England

5818. Identity Politics and Policy Disputes in U.S.–Korea Relations

Author:
Gi-Wook Shin
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
Anti-American sentiments and slogans swept South Korea during its 2002 presidential campaign. These movements were not new for the country, but for the first time, they had a crucial impact on its alliance with the United States. A second North Korean nuclear stand-off had just occurred, and candidate Roh Moo Hyunʼs vows to continue engagement with the North, despite the crisis, were clearly at odds with the George W. Bush administrationʼs desire to isolate Pyongyang. In the past, such a threat would have led the South to consolidate its alliance with the United States for reasons of national security. Also preceding the 2002 election, a massive wave of anti-American sentiment had erupted in response to the handling of a U.S. military training accident that killed two Korean schoolgirls: Catholic priests went on a hunger strike, and tens of thousands of Koreans—not just activists but middle-class adults—protested against the United States.1 According to a 2003 Pew survey, aside from certain Arab states, France, and Russia, South Korea was identified as one of the most anti-American countries.2 A 2004 RAND report likewise showed that many South Koreansʼ previously positive views of the United States had become increasingly unfavorable.3 As new progressive, nationalist policy elites sought to reassess the U.S. role in inter-Korean relations and unification, the rationale for the alliance was being questioned and became a subject of intense debate within the South.
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, South Korea, North Korea, France, and Korea

5819. The Executive Unbound: After the Madisonian Republic

Author:
Chris Edelson
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
In recent years, advocates of broad executive power have made bold claims. George W. Bush administration attorneys asserted that Congress could not limit presidential authority to wage pre-emptive war or authorize torture. Barack Obama administration attorneys concluded that the President could authorize military action in Libya without congressional approval.
Topic:
Civil War
Political Geography:
Libya

5820. American Public Opinion and Health Care

Author:
Robert Shapiro
Publication Date:
08-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
There are two especially central problems that the authors cannot over- come. First, the authors' tendency to favor abstractions over specifics leads them to overlook or downplay evidence that executive power has been limited by the rule of law. The Supreme Court blocked the Harry Truman administration from seizing steel factories during the Korean War (the Truman administration made essentially the same argument to the District Court about executive power that the authors endorse); the Court and Congress used legal allegations and conclusions to effectively force Richard Nixon out of office; the Court compelled Bill Clinton to sit for a deposition. The authors do not precisely date the alleged demise of the rule of law, but even more-recent examples of the rule of law's continued relevance exist. In 2004, Department of Justice attorneys forced the George W. Bush administration to modify a secret surveillance program after the attorneys, who believed the program was illegal, threatened to resign.
Topic:
Health and Public Opinion
Political Geography:
America