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4101. Caught in the crossfire: the Pashtun tribes of Southeast Afghanistan

Author:
Tom Gregg
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
There is increased recognition of the importance of engaging tribes in Afghanistan, but the government of Afghanistan and the international community are yet to come up with a coherent and coordinated approach. While more effective tribal engagement won't work everywhere, there is an opportunity to engage more fully with Pashtun tribes in Afghanistan's southeast. A meaningful and well resourced tribal policy would help improve stability in this strategically important region and also help avoid any mismanagement that could make things worse.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, War, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Afghanistan

4102. A G-20 caucus for East Asia

Author:
Stephen Grenville and Mark P Thirlwell
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
In September 2009 the Pittsburgh Summit designated the G-20 as the world's premier forum for international cooperation. The G-20's arrival at the apex of the international economic architecture gives East Asia a much greater presence at the top table of the world economy: six regional economies, including Australia, are members of the G-20, in contrast to the G7, which only had room for Japan. This increase in representation creates important new opportunities for the region. But making use of these opportunities requires significant increases in policy-making resources. Unfortunately, in many Asian economies, such resources are in short supply relative to the wide variety of pressing problems the region currently faces.
Topic:
Economics, International Cooperation, and International Organization
Political Geography:
Japan, Israel, East Asia, and Australia/Pacific

4103. Rebuilding Zimbabwe: Australia's role in supporting the transition

Author:
Joel Negin and Jolyon Ford
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
What should Australia do to assist Zimbabwe's re-emergence? In March 2009, Australia became the first major donor country to provide assistance to the new power-sharing government in Zimbabwe. Given the pervading influence of hardline elements, many doubt the merits and viability of the 'inclusive government'. Ought Australia continue its support, accepting the risk of buttressing Mugabe and his regime? Or should Australia stand back and maintain pressure for a more acceptable government – at the risk of contributing to theinclusive government's failure?
Topic:
Bilateral Relations and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Africa, Australia/Pacific, and Zimbabwe

4104. Issue Brief: Perspectives on the Peacebuilding Commission's Coordination Role

Author:
Jenna Slotin
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The founding resolutions of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) state that one of the main purposes of the commission is “to improve the coordination of all relevant actors within and outside the United Nations.” What does this mean for an intergovernmental advisory organ? Can the PBC really be expected to coordinate the many UN agencies, funds, and programs on the ground, let alone the many bilateral, multilateral, and nongovernmental actors that are present in a postconflict country? What does the PBC have to offer with respect to coordination?
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, and United Nations

4105. Issue Brief: Perspectives on the Peacebuilding Commission and Mutual Accountability

Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Mutual accountability has become one of several principles that underpin the PBC's work. The commission has facilitated the articulation of mutual commitments as part of the peacebuilding frameworks developed in Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, and the Central African Republic. This has begun to fill an important gap. But, the PBC has so far not fulfilled the full promise of this principle: to serve as a forum where national and international actors can hold each other to their commitments. This brief reflects on the PBC's experience with mutual accountability and puts it into a broader context to highlight why it is an area where the PBC can potentially add value.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, Sierra Leone, and Burundi

4106. Climategate and Climate Science

Author:
Kenneth P. Green and Steven F. Hayward
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
AEI's environmental team has been especially busy lately responding to numerous press inquiries about the “Climategate” scandal. We reprint below two pieces, one by Steven F. Hayward that appeared in The Weekly Standard, and another by Kenneth P. Green, which appeared on The American. Hayward's piece was mentioned prominently on Fox News Sunday. Green also testified on the science of global warming recently before the Senate Committee on Finance. In addition, Samuel Thernstrom and Lee Lane, who are codirecting AEI's Geo engineering Project, have been following the developments and commenting on them. AEI released an updated version of its Public Opinion Study “Polls on the Environment and Global Warming,” which shows that, even before the latest controversy, opinion about the seriousness of global warming had declined sharply in several recent polls.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
America

4107. Addicted to the Physician Payment "Fix"

Author:
Bryan E. Dowd
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
Congressional mismanagement of Medicare is a bipartisan project in which Democrats and Republicans set aside the rancor of party politics and ideological differences and work hand in hand to run the program into the ground. The latest attempts to "fix" physician payments by replacing a sizeable cut in Medicare fees with a small increase provide the evidence.
Topic:
Debt, Health, Markets, and Politics

4108. Building Up to Tearing Down the Wall

Author:
Ronald W. Reagan
Publication Date:
11-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
In 1988, as he was about to step down as president, Ronald Reagan received the Francis Boyer Award, AEI's highest honor. He chose for the theme of his speech that December evening, eleven months before the Berlin Wall fell, the struggle of people everywhere for freedom. In his speech, he anticipated the momentous events that would occur in 1989: “So while our hopes today are for a new era, let us remember that if that new era is indeed upon us, there was nothing inevitable about it. It was the result of hard work—and of resolve and sacrifice on the part of those who love freedom and dare to strive for it.” Freedom works, he said. He saluted the Solzhenitsyns, the Sakharovs, and the Sharanskys, saying, “We have seen the thrilling spectacle of mankind refusing to accept the shackles placed upon us.” As we recall the events of November 1989, it is important to remember the struggle and to recommit ourselves to the hard work of extending freedom to those who have yet to enjoy its blessings.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Cold War, and Power Politics
Political Geography:
Russia, United States, and Berlin

4109. In Memoriam—Irving Kristol

Author:
Christopher DeMuth
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
AEI senior fellow Irving Kristol—godfather of the neoconservative movement and one of the towering intellectual figures of the twentieth century—died peacefully on September 18 at the age of eighty-nine. Mr. Kristol's connection to AEI began long before he became a full-time scholar at the Institute in 1988. In 1973, he gave the first of AEI's Distinguished Lectures on the Bicentennial of the United States. The lectures were delivered at historic sites around the country, and Mr. Kristol's lecture, “The American Revolution as a Successful Revolution,” was given at St. John's Church in Washington, where many of the nation's presidents have worshipped. We reprint excerpts from it below after a tribute to him written by Christopher DeMuth, the D. C. Searle Senior Fellow at AEI.
Topic:
Cold War, Politics, International Affairs, and Political Theory
Political Geography:
United States and Washington

4110. Getting the Story Right: The True Origin of the Financial Crisis

Author:
John H. Makin, Vincent R. Reinhart, and Peter J. Wallison
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research
Abstract:
One year ago, on September 14, Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. The next day the Dow fell five hundred points. Soon thereafter, the government essentially nationalized AIG, made Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley into bank-holding companies, and petitioned Congress for aid. In early September, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had been placed in government conservatorship. These events followed the bursting of the housing bubble. We present here three essays written by AEI scholars in the spring and summer of 2009 on the origins of the financial crisis whose reverberations we continue to feel today. Vincent R. Reinhart sets the stage by reminding us of the importance of getting the story of what happened right, as policy recommendations flow from our understanding of what occurred. He also tells us that “the narrative first written about the Great Depression was wrong in many important respects.” John H. Makin and Peter J. Wallison focus on the misguided policies that contributed to the crisis. In a new Economic Outlook, Makin discusses three important lessons of the financial crisis that should be understood in order to enable a faster, more effective policy response to future crises.
Topic:
Economics, Markets, and Financial Crisis