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6171. International Issues & Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs Contents

Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
International Issues: Slovak Foreign Policy Affairs
Institution:
Slovak Foreign Policy Association
Abstract:
The decade of 2000–2010 was the warmest decade in recent history. It was also a decade of climate extremes such as the 2003 heat wave in western Europe and 2010 heat wave in Russia, frequent major floods in Europe, Pakistan in 2010 or Australia in early 2011, devastating cyclones, or major cold snaps and snow blizzards as in the US, UK and China. Despite this reality, there persists a deep gap between the scientific evidence about the changing climate of the Earth, and political awareness about the reasons and consequences of global warming. Such a gap between physical reality and political thinking will be extremely costly. Recent scientific evidence suggests that measures considered to tackle global warming are gravely inadequate. It appears that the average global temperature by 2100 will increase by at least 3°C to 4°C. Such increase will have devastating effects on agricultural production and survival of hundreds of millions people. The purpose of this paper is to improve understanding of climate change science among policy makers and diplomats.
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Russia, United States, China, United Kingdom, Europe, and Australia

6172. Striving for Developed Status: Costa Rica and the United States' 21st Century Engagement

Author:
Anne Slaughter Andrew
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Fifty years ago, Costa Rica, like most of its Latin neighbors, was a developing country struggling for political stability and economic development. Today, we find Latin America as a whole, more stable, prosperous and democratic, with Costa Rica recognized as one of the most stable democracies in the Americas.
Political Geography:
United States and Latin America

6173. Toward a More Perfect Union: Ten Years of the Ohrid Framework Agreement

Author:
Philip T. Reeker
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA), which ended the conflict between the ethnic-Albanian National Liberation Army (NLA) and Macedonian security forces. After NLA fighters attacked a police station in the village of Tearce in January 2001, killing a police officer, clashes quickly flared up in other areas across Macedonia. The potential of another Balkan war was averted when US negotiator James Pardew and his EU colleague François Léotard mediated an agreement between the ethnic-Albanian and ethnic-Macedonian sides. The OFA was signed on August 13, 2001.

6174. Burma: A View from Rangoon

Author:
Larry M. Dinger
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Burma (also known as Myanmar) is a land of contrasts. It is geographically the largest country in Southeast Asia, stretching from tropical beaches to Himalayan peaks. It is rich in resources, including natural gas, timber, and gems. Eighty years ago its people were generally acknowledged to be the best educated in the region, and their prospects for development were expected to be high. Yet today, Burma is the poorest country in Southeast Asia with a per capita GDP of about $625; governmental health and educational expenditures are pitifully small; and Burmese rank near the bottom in most human-development indexes. The ethnic Burman, mostly Buddhist majority lives mostly in the central plains; but more than one hundred other distinct ethnic groups exist, as do notable Christian, Muslim, and Hindu minorities. Visitors universally praise the hospitality of Burmese peoples; yet ethnic-based armed conflicts simmer and sometimes flare in border areas, and Burma receives constant international criticism for major human rights abuses.
Topic:
Development, Education, and Human Rights
Political Geography:
Burma, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar

6175. Religion and Democracy: The Emerging Diplomacy of Pope Benedict XVI

Author:
Francis Rooney
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
While many Americans only see him as a spiritual leader of Roman Catholics, the Pope exerts an often subtle but undeniable influence in international affairs. The Pope is the final authority of the Holy See, which derives its name from “seat” in Latin and signifies the repository of authority and direction over the organization and affairs of the Church. As an institution and sovereign, the Holy See is the “oldest diplomatic entity in the world.”
Topic:
Sovereignty
Political Geography:
America

6176. Good News and Bad News from the Korean Peninsula

Author:
Donald P. Gregg
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
The good news out of the Koreas is that President Barack Obama, as no other president before him, has recognized that South Korea is America's most reliable and active ally in Asia. The President mentioned South Korea in his January 25 State of the Union speech far more than any other country, praising its teachers, its technical prowess, its growing economic status, and urging quick ratification of the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement. If any further proof of Seoul's current status was needed, David Sanger in The New York Times of February 20, 2011, said flatly, “South Korea…is now Washington's favorite ally in Asia.”
Topic:
Economics and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
United States, New York, Washington, Asia, South Korea, and Sinai Peninsula

6177. Religious Freedom in Republika Srpska

Author:
Thomas P. Melady and J. Cushman Laurent
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Religious freedom is one indicator that can be used to gauge fundamental human rights bestowed upon citizens by government. Republika Srpska has seen ethnical, cultural, and political strife over the last two decades. Sixteen years after the Dayton Peace Accords ended the Bosnian War, does Republika Srpska guarantee freedom of religion?
Topic:
Politics and Culture
Political Geography:
Republika Srpska

6178. Liberia: Progress Made and Challenges for the Future

Author:
Ellen Margrethe Løj
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
As Liberia reaches almost eight years of unbroken peace since the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) deployed in 2003, I had the opportunity in March 2011 to brief the Security Council on the remarkable progress the country is making, and highlighted Liberia's need for continued support from the international community. Amid its numerous challenges, and as the country strives to consolidate peace, the support of the international community is paramount to consolidate the outstanding achievements of the Liberian people.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
United States, United Nations, and Liberia

6179. Constructive Diplomacy: The US Department of State's Overseas Building Program

Author:
Adam E. Namm
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Abraham Lincoln appropriately described the role of official buildings in the national consciousness when, challenged about the cost of constructing the Capitol dome during the Civil War, he observed, “When the people see the dome rising, it will be a sign that we intend the union to go on.” While the facilities constructed by the Department of State's Bureau of Overseas Buildings Operations (OBO) are on foreign land, their role in announcing to the world that the United States is a presence of stability, reliability, and permanence is as valuable a symbol of our democracy as the many official buildings that fly the flag in the United States.
Political Geography:
United States

6180. The Spirit of Service

Author:
Ryan C. Crocker
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
After concluding a 37 year Foreign Service career as Ambassador to Iraq from 2007 to 2009, I accepted an appointment as Dean of the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A University. In a December 2010 convocation address, I tried to describe what brought me here. In an important way, my past with the State Department and my present and future here at A come down to a single word: Service.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Iraq