Number of results to display per page
Search Results
752. The Domestic Politics of Irrational Intelligence Oversight
- Author:
- Amy B. Zegart
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Political Science Quarterly
- Institution:
- Academy of Political Science
- Abstract:
- AMY B. ZEGART examines the roots of weak congressional intelligence oversight and challenges the view that ineffectual oversight stems from executive branch secrecy. Instead, she finds that Congress has tied its own hands by failing to consolidate its budgetary power or to develop robust expertise in intelligence.
- Topic:
- Politics
753. Coping with a failing Pakistan
- Author:
- Stephen P. Cohen
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
- Abstract:
- As a state and a nation Pakistan has been in trouble for many years, but both now seem to be in a downward spiral. As a recent Brookings study observed, it is very difficult to predict Pakistan's short-term future, or the impact on its neighbours, let alone the wider international community. Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, its history of irresponsible behaviour as a nuclear proliferator, the close ties between radical Islamists and Pakistan, and its continuing hostile relations with India and Afghanistan all complicate efforts to look ahead even five years, let alone to speculate about effective policies.
- Topic:
- Islam, Nuclear Weapons, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Pakistan and South Asia
754. How to assess a rotating presidency of the Council under the Lisbon rules
- Author:
- Piotr Maciej Kaczyński
- Publication Date:
- 02-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- On 1 January 2011, Hungary, the third member of the European Union to join the club in 2004, took over the presidency of the Council of the European Union. This represents the first presidency of a newer member state under Lisbon Treaty rules. After the new treaty entered into force on 1 December 2009, all rotating presidencies are, in a sense, first time presidencies. Their relative success now depends more on administrative ability than political leadership.
- Topic:
- Politics, Regional Cooperation, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Europe
755. Assessing 12-year Military Reform in Indonesia:Major Strategic Gaps for the Next Stage of Reform
- Author:
- Leonard C. Sebastian and Iisgindarsah
- Publication Date:
- 04-2011
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
- Abstract:
- The Indonesian military remains one of the most crucial institutions in a democratising Indonesia and continues to be a key factor in any discussion regarding the future of the country. Forced to withdraw from formal politics at the end of the New Order regime, the military leadership has been embarking on a series of reforms to "professionalise" the armed forces, while maintaining their standing within Indonesian society. This paper attempts to provide an assessment of the military reform process during the last 12 years in Indonesia. To this end, it will provide an overview regarding the role of the Indonesian military during the Suharto era; analyse to what extent the process of democratisation has shaped the role and mission of the military; explore the perceptions and motivations of the actors involved in the reform process; review what has been achieved; and highlight the outstanding issues that remain unaddressed. With regard to the final point, this paper discerns three major strategic gaps that undermine the processes of military reform in Indonesia, namely: the "regulation loophole", the "defence-economic gap" and the "shortcomings of democratic civilian control". Considering these problems, this paper concludes that while the military officers' interest in day-to-day politics will gradually diminish, the military professionalism will ebb and flow depending more on the behaviour of political elites and their attempts to address the major strategic gaps in the next stage of the country's military reform.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Indonesia and Southeast Asia
756. The Arab Revolution of 2011: Reflections on Religion and Politics
- Author:
- Nader Hashemi
- Publication Date:
- 04-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Insight Turkey
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- The democratic uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East have been widely celebrated but in the West they have generated concern and apprehension. Most of this concern involves the future role of religion in the politics of the Arab world. In this essay, I make two broad observations. First, concern in the West about the rise of mainstream Islamist parties is partly based not on the illiberal orientation of these groups but the fact that they are politically independent actors who challenge Western geo-strategic interests in the region. Second, the role of religion in government has never been democratically negotiated en masse in the Arab world. To assume that this issue has been resolved and a broad consensus exists is to project a Western understanding of religion-state relations on the Arab-Islamic world. Doing so is both erroneous and analytically distorted. The battles over the role of religion in politics have yet to begin in the Arab world.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa
757. American power and the racial dimensions of US foreign policy
- Author:
- Mark Ledwidge
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Politics
- Institution:
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Abstract:
- This article consists of a critical discourse that examines the meteoric rise of Barack Obama within the context of international and domestic race relations. The article explores the impact of American racism on domestic and foreign affairs, in addition to providing contrasting viewpoints on the significance of Obama's election to the presidency. The article utilises the Obama phenomenon to assess US perceptions of the North–South divide, race, ethnicity, religion and anti-Americanism, in addition to unpacking the controversy surrounding Rev. Jeremiah Wright's characterisations of American power. The Obama campaign's post-9/11 context will be used to ascertain whether conservative efforts to associate Obama with Islam represent a conservative backlash that represents an ethnocentric re-articulation related to race, religion and the War on Terror, followed by an assessment of whether the Obama phenomenon is indicative of the perfectibility of US democracy, which would justify the exportation of American values. The article will engage in an interdisciplinary discourse grounded in political science, history and IR to provide the depth of knowledge and theoretical competency to frame the discussion in a historical and contemporary context that acknowledges Obama's relevance to domestic and international politics.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- America
758. 'Change we can believe in?' Barack Obama, race and the 2008 US presidential election
- Author:
- Kevern Verney
- Publication Date:
- 03-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- International Politics
- Institution:
- Palgrave Macmillan
- Abstract:
- This article addresses two questions. It begins by comparing the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination contest with the 1980s campaigns of Jesse Jackson. It examines the different background and personalities of Obama and Jackson, together with an analysis of what has changed in US political life in the intervening decades, in an attempt to understand why Obama succeeded where the earlier Jackson campaigns failed. The second part of the article analyses the subsequent general election with a view to determining whether Obama's defeat of John McCain should be seen as a result of a unique set of political circumstances, or evidence of the increasing irrelevance of race in US electoral politics. In particular, this discussion assesses the validity of the claims made by some commentators that Obama's victory marks the beginning of a new 'post-racial' era in American political life.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
759. Bibliography of Periodical Literature
- Author:
- Norbert Scholz
- Publication Date:
- 05-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Journal of Palestine Studies
- Institution:
- Institute for Palestine Studies
- Abstract:
- This section lists articles and reviews of books relevant to Palestine and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Entries are classified under the following headings: Reference and General; History (through 1948) and Geography; Palestinian Politics and Society; Jerusalem; Israeli Politics, Society, and Zionism; Arab and Middle Eastern Politics; International Relations; Law; Military; Economy, Society, and Education; Literature, Arts, and Culture; Book Reviews; and Reports Received.
- Topic:
- Environment, Politics, and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Israel, Palestine, and Arabia
760. Religious Freedom in Republika Srpska
- Author:
- Thomas P. Melady and J. Cushman Laurent
- Publication Date:
- 04-2011
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Council of American Ambassadors
- Abstract:
- Religious freedom is one indicator that can be used to gauge fundamental human rights bestowed upon citizens by government. Republika Srpska has seen ethnical, cultural, and political strife over the last two decades. Sixteen years after the Dayton Peace Accords ended the Bosnian War, does Republika Srpska guarantee freedom of religion?
- Topic:
- Politics and Culture
- Political Geography:
- Republika Srpska