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1952. Beyond Bonn: Revisioning the International Compact for Afghanistan
- Author:
- Peter Middlebrook and Mark Sedra
- Publication Date:
- 11-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The Bonn Agreement, signed on December 5, 2001, provided the road map for the transformation of the Afghan state, culminating in the September 18, 2005 legislative elections. The landmark polls, which proceeded largely peacefully, have elected an Afghan Parliament for the first time in more than three decades. Although the Bonn political process has made great strides toward facilitating Afghanistan's transition to democracy, the costs and challenges associated with the reform agenda are immense and continue to spiral. With a narrow revenue base, Afghanistan will remain dependent on support from the international community for many years to come, not just to cover the capital costs associated with reconstruction and poverty reduction but also to underwrite core operating expenditures. Once funding for Coalition military operations is factored in, the cost of maintaining relative peace and stability in Afghanistan could exceed the $16-18 billion per year currently being spent—a prohibitively high figure in light of creeping donor fatigue. With the security situation in the country still volatile, regional posturing intensifying, and the United States signaling that troop withdrawals are imminent, Afghanistan's transition remains fragile and uncertain. Senior Washington officials already quietly acknowledge that the reform process has failed to maintain the critical momentum that the Afghan government's landmark report, Securing Afghanistan's Future: Accomplishments and the Strategic Path Forward, appeared to generate when it was launched at the spring 2004 Berlin Donors Conference.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Politics, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and Middle East
1953. Karen Hughes' Indonesia Visit Underscores Bush Administration's PR Problems
- Author:
- Stephen Zunes
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- It is doubtful that the Bush administration will be very successful advancing America's image in the Islamic world as long as its representatives have such trouble telling the truth. A case in point took place on October 21, when U.S. Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes was talking before a group of university students in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim country. As she has found elsewhere in her visits in the Islamic world, there is enormous popular opposition to the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the ongoing U.S. counter-insurgency war.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, America, Indonesia, Middle East, and Southeast Asia
1954. Waiting to Exhale: The Six-Party Talks Agreement
- Author:
- Wade Huntley
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- Nuclear nonproliferation advocates worldwide welcomed the joint agreement issued September 19 by the participants in the "Six-Party Talks" process aimed at denuclearizing the Korean peninsula. The agreement evinces not only a commitment by North Korea to end all nuclear weapons development, but also a validation of a negotiated approach to the current Korean nuclear crisis which both North Korea and the United States have, at various times, resisted.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- United States, Asia, and North Korea
1955. Uses of Ambiguity in North Korea Agreement
- Author:
- John Feffer
- Publication Date:
- 10-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- On September 19, North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear program. As part of the same agreement, which followed the latest round of the Six Party Talks, the United States pledged not to attack or invade North Korea, to coexist peacefully with the country, and to work toward normalized relations. The United States and other parties to the agreement — China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea — offered to put together an energy package for North Korea.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Diplomacy, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Russia, China, Asia, South Korea, and North Korea
1956. Feeding the Nuclear Fire
- Author:
- Zia Mian and M.V. Ramana
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The July 18 joint statement by U.S. President George Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has attracted a great deal of comment. The focus has been on the possible consequences of U.S. promises to support India's nuclear energy program in exchange for India clearly separating its military and civilian nuclear facilities and programs and opening the latter to international inspection.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Nuclear Weapons, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- United States, India, and Asia
1957. Giving Democracy a Bad Name: Afghanistan's Parliamentary Elections
- Author:
- Sonali Kolhatkar and Jim Ingalls
- Publication Date:
- 09-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The United States has supposedly created new "democracies" in Afghanistan and Iraq, but these endeavors give democracy a bad name. Sure, the two countries have some ingredients of representative democracy, such as elected officials and a constitution. But both countries are still beset by grinding poverty, insurgencies, and entrenched militia forces that make the exercise of democracy either impractical or dangerous. Both countries have high numbers of foreign troops occupying their land and terrorizing the population while hunting "terrorists." And both countries' governments answer to their respective U.S. ambassador on most issues. In the midst of such a violent and coercive environment, Afghans are pressing ahead with the latest in a series of "democratic" exercises imposed by the United States: the first Afghan parliamentary elections in four decades will take place this Sunday, September 18. Even though many Afghans hope that the elections will empower them to end their troubles, the fear is that the elections will probably be as undemocratic in practice as every other U.S.-inflicted Afghan institution.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Democratization, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United States, and Asia
1958. U.S.-China Relations — Opportunities, Risks, and the Taiwan Issue
- Author:
- Thomas J. Bickford
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- China is primarily interested in concentrating on trade and economic development and therefore wants an international environment conducive to continued economic growth. Even with recent defense budget increases, China's ability to project power beyond its borders will be extremely limited for a long time to come. There is a real risk of conflict between the United States and China over Taiwan, and U.S. policy needs to be aimed at avoiding such a conflict.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Development
- Political Geography:
- United States, China, and Taiwan
1959. August Around the World
- Author:
- Daniel Smith
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- The prevailing sentiment, less "laid back," refers to "the dog days of summer" from which the rich and well-connected have historically sought relief by getting out of town. Indeed, one can easily picture Caesar Augustus — in whose honor the Roman Senate renamed and lengthened the sixth month in the Julian calendar — abandoning Rome in the same way Congress and the president flee Washington.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and Development
- Political Geography:
- United States and Washington
1960. Security Council Reform Debate Highlights Challenges Facing UN
- Author:
- Ian Williams
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Foreign Policy In Focus
- Abstract:
- Within a day of arriving at the United Nations John Bolton, the former lobbyist for Taiwan and advocate for one permanent seat on the Security Council, the United States, had cut a deal with the Chinese representative. China wants to stop an additional permanent Security Council seat for Japan. The United States had promised Japan its support in return for its loyalty over Iraq, but hated Germany more than it loves Japan. So the two agreed to thwart the attempt by the G-4 (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan), to secure permanent seats during the current reform proposals.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Japan, China, India, Taiwan, Asia, Brazil, and Germany