David R. Mayhew examines U.S. presidential elections from 1788 through 2004. He highlights the importance of incumbency advantage. He concludes that in-office parties have kept the White House two-thirds of the time when they have run incumbent candidates, but they have fared only 50-50 in open-seat elections.
John A. Gentry discusses the nature of U.S. intelligence “failures” He argues that excessive expectations for the performance of intelligence agencies mean that many charges of intelligence failure are misplaced and many reform proposals are misdirected. He concludes that policymakers and policy-implementing agencies often cause intelligence-related failures.
Byong-Kuen Jhee analyzes Korean public attitudes toward the United States and whether and how voters' anti-American perceptions affect their electoral choices. He concludes that the surge of anti-Americanism in Korea may have a marginal impact on the country's existing favorable relationship with the United States.
Mohammed Hafez's new book, Suicide Bombers in Iraq: The Strategy and Ideology of Martyrdom , is a must-read for every American soldier or journalist on his or her way to Iraq. This book shows beyond a shadow of a doubt just how complex the situation is. Loaded with facts and figures, it will provide students of terrorism studies considerable data from which to conduct research and analysis for years to come. In addition, the book puts names to and gives details about the many un-named suicide bombers in Iraq and settles the debate of the past few years about their real identity and nationality. They are overwhelmingly foreigners (as Hafez and others have argued for years with a certain colleague from Chicago), overwhelmingly Saudis, Kuwaitis, Maghrebis, and Europeans of Moroccan descent; only a small percentage of suicide bombers in Iraq are actually Iraqis.
After watching the media coverage of French President Nicholas Sarkozy's November 2007 visit to the United States, reading a book about the ''great divide'' between the United States and Europe is a strange experience. After all, Sarkozy, along with German President Angela Merkel, have done almost everything in their power to heal the bitter rift created by the George W. Bush administration's decision to invade Iraq in March 2003. With pretty much the sole exception of Bush, almost all the leaders who engaged in the vitriol of that period have retired from the scene, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made cooperation with Europe over issues like the Iranian nuclear program a high priority. So in some ways, this book feels outdated.
DOUGLAS LITTLE reviews John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's controversial new book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. He concludes that despite their prosecutorial tone, the authors have sparked a long-overdue public debate about America's special relationship by questioning whether domestic politics drives the United States to act against its own national security interests.
Although officers and officials might be forgiven for hoping for the best when it comes to military strategy and diplomacy, they must plan for the worst. Some policymakers, however, have forgotten this simple idea behind prudent planning. It might be defeatist to base one's strategy on the worst-case contingency, but military strategists and diplomats alike should be prepared for some setbacks by not assuming that all the “breaks” will fall their way. Leaders who deliberately choose war probably underestimate its costs and risks, but realists understand that optimistic political rhetoric will fade once battle is joined.
Governors occupy a peculiar and precarious position in American politics, David Leal's comprehensive new book on gubernatorial elections demonstrates. They are embedded in the national party system, and are often punished in open-seat elections if they are from the same party as the president. Yet they have some freedom to shape the local meaning of party labels, or even to run strongly as minor-party or independent candidates. While governors of states large and small are often mentioned as possible presidential contenders, they are twice as likely to be defeated in reelection contests as U.S. senators.
As President-elect Obama prepares to assume office on January 20, 2009, it is important for the incoming Administration to consider keeping America's long standing bipartisan commitment to promoting democracy worldwide. President-elect Obama spoke eloquently about the need to engage America's allies and friends to address global challenges. To continue promoting democracy in the future, the United States must engage other democracies and tap multilateral resources such as the Community of Democracies.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Politics
RICHARD M. SKINNER challenges notions that the strong presidency of the modern era has proved incompatible with powerful political parties. Instead, he argues that, since 1980, the United States has seen a dramatic growth in presidential partisanship across a range of areas.