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41. Enhancing Democracy Assistance

Author:
Lincoln A. Mitchell and David L. Phillips
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The Research Project on Enhancing Democracy Assistance is undertaken by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy, the Arnold A. Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies of the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, and the Atlantic Council of the United States. This report recognizes that democracy assistance is essential to the promotion of US foreign policy and global interests, and offers political and technical recommendations in order to enhance democracy assistance.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Democratization, Development, Globalization, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United States

42. Stabilizing Afghanistan: Threats and Challenges

Author:
William Maley
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
Afghanistan cannot be stabilized by quick fixes. The United States, NATO, and their allies need to make a sustained commitment for the long term. Instead of a simple “surge,” there needs to be a much clearer focus on bringing security to Afghans' daily lives. Only once this is achieved will Afghanistan's government have real reservoirs of legitimacy. Afghanistan has not been served well by its 2004 Constitution, which created a dysfunctional system of government that relies too much on the president alone. The United States should support systemic reforms, first through the development of an effective executive office to support the Afghan president. Counternarcotics policies in Afghanistan must take account of domestic socioeconomic complexities, and be based on long-term development projects that increase the returns from cultivating different crops. Serious thought needs to be given to encouraging more Muslim states to contribute personnel to support the promotion of human security and development in Afghanistan. Pakistan needs to be pressured discreetly but very strongly to arrest the Afghan Taliban leadership in Pakistan.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, and War
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, and Central Asia

43. Strengthen the Millennium Challenge Corporation: Better Results are Possible

Author:
Lex Rieffel and James W. Fox
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is one of the outstanding innovations of the eight-year presidency of George W. Bush. No other aid agency-foreign or domestic-can match its purposeful mandate, its operational flexibility and its potential muscle.
Topic:
Development, Government, Humanitarian Aid, and International Affairs
Political Geography:
United States

44. A Bridge to Somewhere: Rethinking American Transportation for the 21st Century

Author:
Robert Puentes
Publication Date:
06-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
In the past, strategic investments in our nation's transportation infrastructure—the railroads in the 19th century, the interstates in the 20th—turbocharged growth and transformed the country. But more recently, America's transportation infrastructure has not kept pace with the growth and evolution of its economy. At the precise time when the nation desperately needs to prioritize its limited investments and resources, the federal transportation program has lost focus.
Topic:
Development, Environment, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and America

45. How to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Now

Author:
Mary Graham and Elena Fagotto
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Support is growing in the 110th Congress for legislation to counter climate change. Yet action on any of the major cap-and-trade proposals will leave a critical policy gap. None of the proposed systems would take full effect for at least five years. Meanwhile, U.S. greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase and company executives are locking in future emissions as they finalize plans for new power plants, factories and cars. The Administration's latest climate action report, circulated in draft in March 2007, estimates that a 19 percent increase in U.S. emissions between 2000 and 2020 will contribute to persistent drought, coastal flooding and water shortages in many parts of the country and around the world. This policy brief proposes that Congress legislate product-by-product and factory-by-factory disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions to create immediate incentives for companies to cut those emissions. Labeling products and disclosing factory emissions would provide market benefits now by exposing inefficiencies and informing the choices of investors, business partners, employees and consumers and would give companies the information base they need to prepare for cap-and-trade regulation.
Topic:
Development, Energy Policy, Environment, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
United States

46. Beyond Microfinance: Getting Capital to Small and Medium Enterprises to Fuel Faster Development

Author:
David de Ferranti and Anthony J. Ody
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), typically employing between 10 and 250 workers, form the backbone of modern economies and can be crucial engines of development through their role as seedbeds of innovation. In much of the developing world, though, SMEs are under-represented, stifled by perverse regulatory climates and poor access to inputs. A critical missing ingredient is often capital.
Topic:
International Relations, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

47. More COPS

Author:
John J. Donohue III and Jens Ludwig
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
It would be unrealistic to expect crime to continue dropping sharply as it did in the 1990s, but that is no reason to undermine the progress brought by successful policies. With recent FBI data showing crime on the rise, it is time to reconsider the massive de-funding of one of the most successful federal anti-crime measures of the 1990s: the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Community Policing Services (COPS) program. The program, authorized by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, provides grants to state and local police to hire additional officers and adopt aspects of "community policing."
Topic:
Civil Society, Crime, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
United States

48. Has U.S. Income Inequality Really Increased?

Author:
Alan Reynolds
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
There are frequent complaints that U.S. income inequality has increased in recent decades. Estimates of rising inequality that are widely cited in the media are often based on federal income tax return data. Those data appear to show that the share of U.S. income going to the top 1 percent (those people with the highest incomes) has increased substantially since the 1970s.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States

49. PolicyWatch #1241: Special Forum Report: The Future of Syria: Challenges and Prospects

Author:
Barry Rubin and Theodore Kattouf
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On May 30, 2007, Barry Rubin and Theodore Kattouf addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Professor Rubin, a visiting fellow at the Institute, is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA), and author of the just-released book The Truth about Syria (Palgrave). Mr. Kattouf, a former U.S. ambassador to Syria and the United Arab Emirates, is president and CEO of AMIDEAST, a nonprofit group dedicated to enhancing educational links between the United States and the Middle East. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, International Relations, and Development
Political Geography:
United States, Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Syria

50. Assessing the New Palestinian Unity Government: A Step Forward or Back?

Author:
David Makovsky
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:
On March 17, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) approved the formation of a Hamas-Fatah national unity government by an 83–3 margin. This culminated a process that began in early February with the Mecca accord facilitated by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Many governments have withheld comment since that accord. One reason for their relative silence is reluctance to criticize a project associated with King Abdullah, who is emerging as a leading force in the Arab world and a linchpin of U.S. efforts to isolate Iran. Another is bated hope that the new government guidelines will be a marked improvement over those of the current Hamas government. Since Hamas's victory in January 2006 parliamentary elections, the focus has been on three principles proposed by the Quartet (the United States, Russia, the European Union, and the UN): (1) recognition of Israel, (2) disavowal of violence, and (3) adherence to past written commitments.
Topic:
Civil Society, Development, and Government
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Middle East, Palestine, Arabia, and Saudi Arabia