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Begin New Search Political Geography America Publishing Institution Council of American Ambassadors

11. Timor-Leste: A New Decade, A New Government, A New Beginning

Author:
Judith R. Fergin
Publication Date:
10-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
When I first visited Timor-Leste twenty-two years ago, I witnessed the courage of students demonstrating for independence. Throughout the following years, I joined other Americans in observing with intense interest Timor-Leste's travel along the road to independence, from the exhilarating popular consultation and its tragic aftermath in 1999 to the joyous assumption of sovereignty in 2002. Since then, the government and people of Timor-Leste have met the manifold and complex challenges of establishing an entirely new country from the ground up with courage and dedication. Even as a young nation, Timor-Leste has exhibited a tremendous commitment to the principles of democracy and human rights. The result is a country that counts, in the Asia-Pacific and around the globe.
Topic:
Human Rights
Political Geography:
America and Asia-Pacific

12. 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

13. 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

14. America Is Ready to Do Business

Author:
Ron Kirk
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
As America's economic recovery continues, President Obama is doing everything possible to build a strong foundation for future growth. The President's blueprint for an America built to last calls for Americans to make, grow and provide products the rest of the world will buy. To support this goal, US trade policy focuses on opening markets and securing a level playing field for US exporters.
Political Geography:
United States and America

15. United States-France Relations and Cooperation in Libya

Author:
François Delattre
Publication Date:
04-2012
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
In many ways, 2011 was an exceptional year for French-American relations. As the world underwent deep transformations, particularly with the Arab Spring, the United States and France demonstrated the strength of their partnership and the importance of what they can accomplish together
Political Geography:
United States, America, France, and Libya

16. 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

17. America's Growing Stake in Central Asia

Author:
Robert O. Blake, Jr.
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
This year marks the 20th anniversary of independence for the five republics of Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This anniversary is a good opportunity to reflect on America's growing stake in Central Asia. Since 1991, our desire for a stable, independent, and prosperous Central Asia has guided US policy priorities in the region, with each of the five nations working towards building strong, market-oriented democracies. In recent years, the United States has sought to increase engagement with this region on a broad range of issues, particularly as we work to bring stability, security, and prosperity to Afghanistan, which borders three of the Central Asian republics. Located at the critical geostrategic crossroads of Eurasia, the region is rich not only in natural resources, economic opportunity, and human capacity, but also in its diversity of people, culture, and ideas. Just as the region was at the center of the Silk Road of centuries past, Central Asia has the potential once again to serve as a hub of trade, transport, and ideas in Eurasia, linking the people and markets of East and West, and North and South. We look forward to working with the Central Asian republics, their neighbors, and international partners to create a new Silk Road that integrates this strategically vital region and offers new opportunities for its people.
Topic:
Culture
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, America, Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan

18. Honduras: Crisis, Transition and Reform

Author:
Hugo Llorens
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
This should be a time of triumph and opportunity for Honduras. Two years after a coup d'état toppled President José Manuel Zelaya, Honduras has successfully restored its dynamic and democratic political system. The freely elected government of President Porfirio Lobo has secured deserved international recognition. In May, former President Zelaya returned to Honduras, ending a lengthy exile in the Dominican Republic that had prolonged the country's political polarization. The following month, the Organization of American States (OAS) lifted its suspension on Honduras's participation, a moment of profound symbolic and practical significance and a diplomatic objective that the United States and other countries in the region had worked long and hard to achieve.
Topic:
Democratization and Politics
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Dominican Republic

19. Public Diplomacy: At the Crossroads Between Practitioner and Theorist

Author:
Michelle A. Lee, Ph.D.
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
“He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches.” Many educators would bristle at least a little bit at this statement, originally penned by George Bernard Shaw in his work, Maxims for Revolutionists. While the divide between practitioners and theorists in various subjects is long-standing, it has never been more apparent in the field of public diplomacy than today. This is partly attributable to the fact that the formal academic study of public diplomacy is a relatively new undertaking. Increasingly in the past decade, academics, independent analysts, councils, and commissions dedicated to US public diplomacy have produced numerous articles, blogs, publications, and reports, often focusing on the weakness of American public diplomacy. Many include recommendations on ways to improve the US government's efforts to engage foreign publics around the world. The extent to which these analyses are read by actual practitioners of public diplomacy is unknown; anecdotally, I venture the guess that few active field practitioners have the time to read much of the published academic literature on the subject of public diplomacy.
Topic:
Diplomacy
Political Geography:
United States and America

20. Democracy and Development in the Philippines: Triumphs and Challenges

Author:
Harry K. Thomas, Jr.
Publication Date:
09-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
Council of American Ambassadors
Abstract:
Since April of this year, I have had the honor of representing President Obama and the American people as Ambassador to the Republic of the Philippines, a major ally with whom the United States has an enduring partnership based on respect, shared values, and a desire for stability and prosperity. The Philippines is at a pivotal moment in its history. The election of Benigno S. “Noynoy” Aquino III, son of slain Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino and his late widow, President Corazon C. Aquino, has brought fresh hope to the country for a better future, even in the face of enormous challenges. The United States strongly supports President Aquino's goals of peace, prosperity, and stability. To those ends, as Ambassador to the Philippines, my top priorities are raising awareness of the scourge of human trafficking in the Philippines, promoting business opportunity and investment, and deepening mutual understanding between the United States and my host country. I have also promoted investment in “green” sources of energy, not only to stimulate economic and job growth but also to protect the environment of this beautiful country and the world we share. My Embassy team and I are working vigorously to enhance our people-to-people ties through cultural and professional exchanges, the Peace Corps, and other programs that build mutual understanding so that we may expand our partnership in the spirit of mutual respect in the years ahead.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Philippines