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42. Organized Crime in Iraq: Strategic Surprise and Lessons for Future Contingencies
- Author:
- Phil Williams
- Publication Date:
- 03-2010
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- PRISM
- Institution:
- Institute for National Strategic Studies (INSS), National Defense University
- Abstract:
- After the invasion of Iraq in March 2003, the United States encountered a series of strategic surprises, including the hostility to the occupation, the fragility of Iraq's infrastructure, and the fractious nature of Iraqi politics. One of the least spectacular but most significant of these surprises was the rise of organized crime and its emergence as a postconflict spoiler. This development was simply not anticipated. Organized crime in Iraq in the months and years after March 2003 emerged as a major destabilizing influence, increasing the sense of lawlessness and public insecurity, undermining the efforts to regenerate the economy, and financing the violent opposition to the occupation forces. In 2003, the theft of copper from downed electric pylons made the restoration of power to the national grid much more difficult. In 2008, the capacity to generate funds through criminal activities enabled al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) to continue resisting both the U.S. military and the Iraqi government. Moreover, with the planned U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, organized crime in the country will continue to flourish by maintaining well established crime-corruption networks. It might also expand by exploiting the continued weakness of the Iraqi state.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States and Iraq
43. Revisiting the Profile of the American Voter in the Context of Declining Turnout
- Author:
- Bulat Akhmetkarimov
- Publication Date:
- 06-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations
- Institution:
- Center for International Conflict Resolution at Yalova University
- Abstract:
- The phenomenon of declining voter turnout in U.S. national elections has been one of the major perplexing issues that political scientists have attempted to explain in recent decades. Today we are face to face with a participation rate that has fallen nearly one-quarter of its initial value since 1960.
- Topic:
- Civil Society and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
44. U.S. Flap on the Aerial Tanker Could Be Self-Defeating
- Author:
- Robbin F. Laird
- Publication Date:
- 09-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- European Affairs
- Institution:
- The European Institute
- Abstract:
- The Pentagon chose the Northrop-EADS tanker because it fits the plan to integrate strike fighters and UAVs for sustained ground-support action. Protectionist Congressmen seem to ignore the need for a global supply-chain that alone can provide an affordable path for the U.S. Air Force to modernize.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
45. The Emerging Structure of International Politics
- Author:
- Kenneth Waltz
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- During the Cold War, the bipolar structure od international system and the nuclear weaponry avaliable to some states combined to perpetuate a troubled peace. As the bipolar era draws to a close, one has to question the likely structural changes in prospect. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, bipolarity endures, albeit in an altered state, because Russia stil takes care of itself and no great powers have emerged yet. With the waning of Russian power, the United States is no longer held in check by any other country. Balance of power theory leads one to assume that other powers, alone or in concert, will bring American power into balance. Considing the likely changes in the structure of international system, one can presuppose that three political units may rise to great-power rank: Germany or a West European state, Japan and China. Despite all the progress achieved by these countries, for some years to come, the United States will be the leading counrty economically as well as militarily.
- Topic:
- Cold War, International Political Economy, Nuclear Weapons, Politics, and Political Theory
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Japan, China, Europe, and Germany
46. Religion, politique et régulation juridique aux États-Unis
- Author:
- Fabienne Randaxhe
- Publication Date:
- 12-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- From a French perspective, the relationship between the state and religion in the United States may seem paradoxical. On the one hand, the American nation was the first one to have established, by constitutional means, a separation between religious bodies and the political realm. On the other hand, religious and political spheres in the US still seem to overlap to some extent. While French approaches tend to regard US laïcité as uncertain and incomplete, this article discusses whether laïcité is in the US incomplete or aware of tensions to be lessened among religious, political and social forces. I focus on legal regulation and consider the notion of accommodation as a particular form of legal laïcité.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States and America
47. The politics of national security: an unabashed liberal view
- Author:
- Todd Gitlin
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- Is there any question about whether the United States must protect itself against mass murderers who devoutly believe that brutality is their ticket to paradise? The question is silly, or worse. When addressed strictly to progressives, it amounts to a calumny. Why should such a question be asked of liberals alone, and not of the conservatives who ignored warnings when the al-Qaeda plot to massacre thousands was well underway and the country's defenses were down?
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
48. U.S. Small Arms Policy: Having it Both Ways
- Author:
- Susan Waltz
- Publication Date:
- 06-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Institution:
- World Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- Does United States policy indeed represent the gold standard for export controls on small arms, as often asserted? Recent events suggest that it is time for a fresh look at this common claim.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States and Middle East
49. Political Theory and Political Science: Can This Marriage Be Saved?
- Author:
- Terence Ball
- Publication Date:
- 08-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- The too-often unhappy 'marriage' of political theory and political science has long been a source of anguish for both partners. Should this troubled partnership be dissolved? Or might this marriage yet be saved? Ball answers the former question negatively and the latter affirmatively. Playing the part of therapist instead of theorist, he selectively recounts a number of episodes which estranged the partners and strained the marriage. And yet, he concludes that the conflicts were in hindsight more constructive than destructive, benefiting both partners in heretofore unexpected ways and perhaps paving a path toward reconciliation and rapprochement.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States
50. The Politics of PEPFAR: The President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
- Author:
- John W. Dietrich
- Publication Date:
- 09-2007
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Abstract:
- In his January 2003 State of the Union Address, President Bush called for the U.S to commit $15 billion over five years to address the international HIV/AIDS epidemic. For several reasons, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) caught many people by surprise. The surprise quickly was followed by excitement, tempered by skepticism.
- Topic:
- Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States