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5911. Shoulder to Shoulder - an Interview Series July 2004

Author:
Loretta Bondi
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
We discuss initiatives that the League of Arab States and US allies and partners have put on the table to foster reform, change, and security in the Middle East. These initiatives have met both support and skepticism before and after they were formally launched at the summit of the League (Tunis, May 2004), and during the summits of the G8, US/EU, and NATO taking place the following month. We assess these developments with the League of Arab States Secretary General Amre Moussa, and Marina Ottaway, Senior Associate and Co-Director of the Rule of Law and Democracy Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The CTR conducted these two interviews separately by telephone from The Hague, and in Washington, DC, in July 2004.
Topic:
Security and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, and Arabia

5912. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership: Regional and Transatlantic Challenges

Author:
Roberto Aliboni
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (EMP) held their annual meeting in Naples on December 2-3, 2003. The Naples conference was the sixth in the series of such meetings since the founding conference of the partnership, which took place in Barcelona in November 1995. With an annual budget of €1 billion, the EMP is a process of “multi-bilateral” cooperation in the political and security; economic and financial; and social and cultural areas. It involves the European Union (EU), and Cyprus, Israel, Malta, Turkey, as well as seven Mediterranean Arab countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, and Tunisia) and the Palestinian National Authority. In Naples, the Ministers delivered only general declarations regarding contentious issues such as the situation in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian road map, and international terrorism. Predictable and incremental as it was, progress was nevertheless achieved on three main “baskets” of the partnership agenda.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Egypt, and Cyprus

5913. La política exterior de las entidades federativas: un estudio comparado

Author:
Jorge A. Schiavon
Publication Date:
08-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas
Abstract:
This working paper analyses the causes of the increased international activity of federated states' units, and the way and intensity in which this activity takes place. First, it explains that the growing participation of federal entities in foreign policy is a product, on one hand, of increasing globalization and interdependence in the international system, and, on the other, of the internal processes of liberalization, democratization, and decentralization. Second, using the Mexican case as an example, it explains how the legal rules in the Constitution establish the limits of international participation of the states of the federation; then, it analyses how the institutional configuration, the division of power, and the division of purpose in the system influence the degree of intensity of participation of these federal units in foreign policy issues, within the constitutional limitations. Likewise, it considers economic capacity and geographical location of the states as variables that also seem to influence their degree of activity. Then, it briefly explores how Mexican federal entities have participated in the internacional arena. Finally, it describes the relationships, in terms of foreign policy, between different orders of government in other federal systems, such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, and the United States, and contrasts these relationships with those in Mexico.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, Canada, Germany, Australia, Switzerland, and Mexico

5914. Secure Borders: The European Experience - A Roundtable with Jonathan Faull

Author:
Mark R. Shulman
Publication Date:
03-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
The EastWest Institute hosted a roundtable discussion with Jonathan Faull, Director-General, Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) of the European Commission. Mr. Faull discussed various important, innovative and effective initiatives that JHA is pursuing to cultivate security while promoting freedom and justice throughout Europe and its new neighborhood. He also discussed impending changes to the US visa regime and their potential impact on transatlantic trade, educational and cultural exchanges, tour ism and relations generally. Other participants included leading experts and scholars from the media, universities, think tanks, and human rights organizations.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Education, Human Rights, and Culture
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

5915. The Liberal Arts at Home and at Work

Author:
Pauline Yu
Publication Date:
11-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Clarke Forum for Contemporary Issues
Abstract:
How many of you have had the experience of touring an older industrial city, perhaps in the company of a local booster keen to describe the city's glorious past, exhibit its vibrant present, and sketch its exciting future? You're likely to have been shown the redeveloped business district, with some gleaming skyscrapers, transportation hubs, and commercial redevelopment. Much would have been made of the "world-class," "cutting-edge," and "competitive" facilities businesses could find there.
Topic:
Civil Society, Education, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

5916. The Financial Front in the Global War on Terrorism

Author:
Patrick D. Buckley and Michael J. Meese
Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
Abstract:
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States has aggressively executed the Global War on Terrorism on many different fronts. The approval of Executive Order 13224 on September 24, 2001, marked a bold initial step toward targeting terrorists' financial networks. The success of terrorist organizations is dependent upon these financial networks because though terrorist attacks are not necessarily expensive, the support of international terrorist networks, training camps, command and control, and infrastructure requires either a large reserve of available finances or the ability to raise significant funding. Estimates of al-Qaeda's current funding vary widely, but it is believed that prior to the Taliban's removal from power, al-Qaeda's annual expenses were at least $36 million on top of an initial fixed cost of approximately $50 million for equipment and infrastructure.
Topic:
Defense Policy, International Trade and Finance, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States

5917. Why German-US Relations Still Matter to the Transatlantic Alliance—One Year after War in Iraq

Author:
Michaela C. Hertkorn
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
A declaration on NATO transformation of October 6, 2002 stated the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) needed to be “capable of taking action whenever the security of its members was threatened, upon the basis of the United Nations Charter. By making it clear that there is no safe haven for those who would threaten our societies or for those who would harbor such people” the deterrent element of Alliance strategy was strengthened. The North Atlantic Council should decide actions on a case-by-case basis. Where NATO as a whole was not engaged, allies willing to take action should be able to make use of NATO assets, procedures and practices. The declaration stressed high priority goals essential to the full range of Alliance missions including the defense against terrorism. This new initiative was to be based on firm national commitments with specific target dates. National commitments should be made transparent for parliamentary monitoring and oversight. Priority should be given to projects maximizing multi-nationality, and which had the potential to become common NATO assets. NATO and European Union capabilities initiatives needed to be mutually reinforced and thoroughly harmonized through permanent co-ordination mechanisms and procedures in a spirit of openness. NATO should redouble its efforts to reduce the fragmentation of defense procurement efforts through the pooling of military capabilities, co-operative acquisition of equipment and common funding. It should reduce to a minimum the obstacles for the sharing of technology. The alliance had to be able to act wherever NATO' s interests were threatened, creating coalitions under NATO' s own mandate, as well as contributing to mission-based coalitions, concerning both, old and new threats. NATO General Secretary, Lord Robertson referred to the experience NATO had with post-conflict stabilization, as in Kosovo and Macedonia. On October 8, 2002 Robertson declared, an enormous number of security issues on the Euro-Atlantic agenda required the greatest possible communication and coordination among Europeans and North Americans. The November 2002 Prague Summit would be a transforming event for the Alliance. It covered a wide range from terrorism, NATO' s military command arrangements and headquarters structure, to a further development of Partnership. The most visible issues referred to enlargement and improvements to NATO' s military capabilities. The question of capabilities concerned the member countries of NATO and of the European Union (EU). Because each nation had only one set of forces, it was necessary to make the best use possible of the scarce resources, avoiding duplication and overlaps. The message was very clear: the European Capabilities Action Plan and NATO' s Prague Capabilities Commitment needed to be coherent. Work in full transparency on capabilities issues was imperative, if EUNATO impasse was to be avoided or ended.
Topic:
Terrorism and War
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Europe, Kosovo, Germany, United Nations, and Macedonia

5918. A Possible Path to Change in US-Iran Relations

Author:
Mark Edmond Clark
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
In 1999, I visited Belgrade one month before the start of Operation ALLIED FORCE as a guest of the Yugoslav Ministry of Foreign Affairs to hear the perspectives of key officials on the possibility of a conflict between Yugoslavia and NATO. I heard a singular perspective that NATO would not use force and threats to do so were used only to get the regime of Slobodan Milosevic to respond to diplomatic efforts by the US and EU. There was simply a refusal to recognize that the threat of attack from NATO was real.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:
United States, Iran, Middle East, and Yugoslavia

5919. CIAO Iraq Special Section: The Year in Review

Author:
Sean Costigan, Adam Mausner, and Siheun Song
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
One year into the occupation of Iraq the United States and its Coalition partners remain in discussions over the country's fate. The deliberations have generally focused on the involvement of the United Nations, the schedule for handing over sovereignty to a democratic Iraqi government, and ultimately what the Iraqi government should resemble. The terms of the debate have regularly been sidelined by unforeseen events, including the recent rebellion in Fallujah, Shiite opposition in the south, grandstanding by local politicians, demagoguery, defection of Iraqi police and security forces and the wavering of Coalition partners, to name but a few. While progress is clearly being made in some areas, there are numerous signs that Iraq may not be ready for the June 30 transition of power. The top U.S. administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, has suggested that by June 30 Iraqi security forces simply will not be up to the task of defending against insurgents. Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld is more optimistic and remains committed to the June 30 deadline.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Middle East, Arabia, and United Nations

5920. The UN Security Council and Iraq

Author:
Christopher D. O'Sullivan and M. James Wilkinson
Publication Date:
02-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
The United Nations Security Council has, in the words of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, “come to a fork in the road . . . (that) may be a moment no less decisive than 1945.”i The US Administration precipitated the crisis when, unable to secure Council approval for using armed force against Iraq, it fashioned its own “coalition of the willing” and drove Saddam Hussein from power. The events surrounding the US action and its aftermath have spawned a vigorous debate over President Bush's policies and whether the Security Council in its present -- or any other -- form can play a serious role henceforth in the quest to ensure international peace and security.
Topic:
United Nations
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Middle East, and Arabia