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12. Reframing Nuclear De-Alert: Decreasing the Operational Readiness of U.S. and Russian Nuclear Arsenals
- Publication Date:
- 10-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Nearly twenty years after the end of the Cold War, Russia and the United States continue to maintain hundreds of nuclear weapons capable of striking the other side, and to have at least some of these nuclear forces at Cold War levels of alert, that is, ready to fire within a few minutes of receiving an order to do so. Even during the Cold War, alert levels were not static and moved up or down in step with changes in the strategic and tactical environments. While the operational readiness of some weapon systems has been reduced, there has been no major change in the readiness levels of most of the nuclear weapon systems in the post–Cold War era. This is in considerable part because Russia and the United States believe that despite fundamental changes in their overall relationship, vital interest requires maintaining a high level of nuclear deterrence. The post–Cold War experience also demonstrates that alert levels can be reduced and measures can be taken to reduce the risk of accidents or unauthorized takeover of nuclear weapons. Further measures could be taken to reduce operational readiness of nuclear arsenals. U.S. and Russian experts alike stressed survivability as a key element in the acceptance of these measures because of its importance to maintaining deterrence.
- Topic:
- Cold War, Nuclear Weapons, and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, and United Nations
13. Countering Violent Extremism: Lessons Learned
- Author:
- Jonathan R. Mroz
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- In his inaugural address, U.S. President Barack Obama told the Muslim world they would be judged by what they build, not what they destroy. But even if those who build far outnumber those who destroy, many governments and societies will continue to be confronted by the specter of violent extremism. The challenge they face is how to devise effective strategies to counter the extremists and encourage long-term solutions that go beyond merely containing the problem to addressing its root causes. This is the challenge we posed to a wide variety of participants in the EastWest Institute's Countering Violent Extremism Initiative.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, and Insurgency
- Political Geography:
- United States
14. Euro-Atlantic Security: One Vision, Three Paths
- Author:
- Piin-Fen Kok
- Publication Date:
- 06-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- The Euro-Atlantic security scene is characterized by a loss of mutual confidence, renewed tensions, and serious disagreements regarding not only practices but principles. Those trends, if not corrected, will produce negative strategic consequences for the security of Europe. New opportunities have emerged today for rethinking the security situation in the Euro-Atlantic region, for strengthening confidence, changing mutual relations, and, if need be, institutions. A basis for this can be found in the hopes for improved U.S.- Russian relations expressed by U.S. President Barack Obama, in the initiative by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on reforming the European security architecture, as well as in the process of elaboration of the new NATO strategic concept.
- Topic:
- International Relations, NATO, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, and Europe
15. Groundbreaking U.S.-Russia Joint Threat Assessment on Iran
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Does Europe face a military threat from Iran, and if so what is the nature of that threat? What is Iran's nuclear capability today and what might it be in the future? What ballistic missile capability does Iran have today and what might it have in the future? If Europe had a missile defense system, would that system protect Europe? These questions have been widely discussed in the popular media, often on the basis of misleading information. This report, which has been written by a group of U.S. and Russian specialists, provides an assessment of the Iranian nuclear and missile programs and an evaluation of the European Missile Defense system proposed by the Bush administration. It is not yet clear what the Obama administration's policy on missile defense will be.
- Topic:
- Treaties and Agreements and Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Iran
16. The Pivotal Relationship: How Obama Should Engage China
- Author:
- Liu Xuecheng and Robert Oxnam
- Publication Date:
- 02-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- Young and charismatic Barack Obama won a historic victory in the U.S. presidential election. This victory has sparked an international frenzy filled with hope and expectations. Obama, who ran on a platform of “change,” has vowed to rebuild U.S. national power, reshape its international image, and renew its global leadership. However, he will face daunting internal and external challenges—fighting the disastrous financial crisis and economic recession, bringing the war on terror to an end, and coping with emerging powers, including China. What relevance does his victory have for U.S. policy toward China? Will Obama's China policy be one of change or continuity? What would we expect from the Obama administration in cultivating the future course for a China-U.S. constructive and cooperative partnership? These questions are the real concerns of the Chinese people as political power changes hands in the United States.
- Topic:
- Bilateral Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
17. Clean Coal: U.S.-China Cooperation in Energy Security
- Author:
- David Wendt
- Publication Date:
- 05-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- As major consumers of the world's energy resources, the United States and China are in dire need of secure energy solutions that can keep pace with their large appetites for energy. Enter coal. Both countries possess abundant coal reserves measured in the hundreds of billions of tons. But the approach to coal policy has been one of favoring cheap extraction rather than taking into serious consideration the societal costs of coal. For the United States, coal represents a major source of electrical power—and a major source of pollution. In China, the accessibility of coal has overtaken the environmental and health arguments against its widespread use. China uses more coal than the United States and European Union combined. The damaging side effects of coal mining and consumption have been overlooked in the face of easy availability and undeveloped or less accessible alternatives. In the current context of global energy uncertainty, coal has been forgiven much.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, Environment, Treaties and Agreements, and International Affairs
- Political Geography:
- United States and China
18. Energy Interests and Alliances: China, America and Africa
- Author:
- Danila Bochkarev, Angelica Austin, and Willem van der Geest
- Publication Date:
- 08-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- In the strategic policy communities of both the United States and China, there has been a knee-jerk blurring between competition in commerce between U.S. and Chinese energy firms and the potential for strategic competition by one country to deny resources to the other. A senior State Department official has described this sort of reaction as “exaggerated”. But the suspicion is there and it is ill-founded. It serves the interests of neither country. On the contrary, as this EWI Policy Paper suggests, energy security can become a rallying point in an otherwise difficult relationship. The two countries are now intensifying their interest and activities not just in each other's domestic energy sector but also in each other's role in a system of global energy security.
- Topic:
- Emerging Markets, Energy Policy, Political Economy, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, and China
19. NUCLEAR FUEL BANKS: Moscow, Washington to Lead on "Mergers"
- Author:
- Danila Bochkarev
- Publication Date:
- 07-2008
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- The United States and Russia are still the giants of nuclear power, accounting for more than half the world's enriched uranium production. Twenty-five percent of the world's nuclear power plants are found in the United States and half of those power plants use Russian uranium. Russian nuclear fuel now constitutes 10 percent of the U.S. power generation mix. The interdependence arising from existing trade in nuclear fuel points toward a natural partnership.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, National Security, Nuclear Weapons, Treaties and Agreements, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and International Security
- Political Geography:
- Russia and United States
20. Countering Violent Extremism: Lessons from the Abrahamic Faiths
- Publication Date:
- 10-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- EastWest Institute
- Abstract:
- The April 19, 1995, bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was the deadliest act of domestic terrorism on U.S. soil and focused the attention of law enforcement, policy makers, and the public on the long overlooked or ignored activities of American paramilitary groups. Although the actions of those convicted for the bombing—Timothy McVeigh, Terry Nichols, and Michael Fortier—were not driven principally by theology, the political movements from which they drew their inspiration have long been associated with the beliefs of a movement that has taken the name “Christian Identity.” It is characterized by ideas purporting to draw religious authority for anti- Semitism, white supremacism, and neo-Nazism.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Political Violence, Religion, Insurgency, and Sectarianism
- Political Geography:
- United States
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