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2. Parting with Illusions: Developing a Realistic Approach to Relations with Russia
- Author:
- Nikolas Gvosdev
- Publication Date:
- 02-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- A review of America's post-Soviet strategy toward Russia is long overdue. The illusions that once guided policy are now at an end. What is needed is a dispassionate approach to Russia, wherein Americans would neither magnify nor excuse the virtues and vices of the Russian Federation but would accept the following realities: Russia is unlikely to become integrated into the Euro-Atlantic community and is unwilling to adjust its foreign policy priorities accordingly; There is broad-based support within Russia for the direction in which Vladimir Putin has taken the country; Russia has undergone a genuine—if limited— recovery from the collapse of the 1990s; Washington lacks sufficient leverage to compel Russian acquiescence to its policy preferences; and On a number of critical foreign policy issues, there is no clear community of interests that allows for concepts of "selective partnership" to be effective.
- Topic:
- International Relations and Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, America, Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union
3. The Grass Is Not Always Greener: A Look at National Health Care Systems Around the World
- Author:
- Michael Tanner
- Publication Date:
- 03-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Critics of the U.S. health care system frequently point to other countries as models for reform. They point out that many countries spend far less on health care than the United States yet seem to enjoy better health outcomes. The United States should follow the lead of those countries, the critics say, and adopt a government- run, national health care system.
- Topic:
- Government and Health
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
4. A Federal Renewable Electricity Requirement
- Author:
- Robert J. Michaels
- Publication Date:
- 11-2008
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Rising energy prices and climate change have changed both the economics and politics of electricity. In response, over half the states have enacted “renewable portfolio standards” (RPS) that require utilities to obtain some power from “renewable” generation resources rather than carbon-emitting fossil fuels. Reports of state-level success have brought proposals for a national standard. Like several predecessor Congresses, however, the most recent one failed to pass RPS legislation.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Energy Policy, and Environment
- Political Geography:
- Europe
5. Reappraising Nuclear Security Strategy
- Author:
- Rensselaer Lee
- Publication Date:
- 06-2006
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The danger posed by Russia's inadequately secured stocks of nuclear weapons and fissile material is a major national security concern for the United States. Various cooperative U.S.-Russian programs aimed at securing nuclear material, weapons, and design intelligence have been mounted since the 1990s, but clever and determined adversaries may be able to circumvent or defeat the defenses that the United States and its partners are attempting to put in place. U.S. programs are by their nature reactive: they have long time horizons; they focus preeminently on the supply side of the problem; and they face serious technological limitations. Russia's imperfect commitment to nonproliferation also undermines the effectiveness of U.S. nonproliferation efforts.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Security, Foreign Policy, and Nuclear Weapons
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, and Asia
6. CATO Institute: Health Care in a Free Society: Rebutting the Myths of National Health Insurance
- Author:
- John C. Goodman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Almost everyone agrees that the U.S. health care system is in dire need of reform. But there are differing opinions on what kind of reform would be best. Some on the political left would like to see us copy one of the government-run “single-payer”systems that exist in Western Europe, Canada, and New Zealand, among other places. Proponents of socialized medicine point to other countries as examples of health care systems that are superior to our own. They insist that government will make health care available on the basis of need rather than ability to pay. The rich and poor will have equal access to care. And more serious medical needs will be given priority over less serious needs.
- Topic:
- Government, Human Welfare, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Canada, and New Zealand
7. European Union Defense Policy: An American Perspective
- Author:
- Leslie S. Lebl
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- For almost 50 years, proposals by the European Union to develop a common foreign and security policy for all member states failed. Since the late 1990s, however, the situation has changed. Despite, or perhaps because of, member states' disagreements over Iraq, the EU probably will continue to develop common foreign and security policies, and the European Commission may begin to play a role in developing new European military capabilities.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, and Treaties and Agreements
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, America, Europe, and Middle East
8. Iraq: The Wrong War
- Author:
- Charles V. Peña
- Publication Date:
- 12-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- President Bush asserts that U.S. military action against Iraq was justified because Saddam Hussein was in material breach of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1441. But even if Iraq was in violation of a UN resolution, the U.S. military does not exist to enforce UN mandates. It exists to defend the United States: its territorial integrity and national sovereignty, the population, and the liberties that underlie the American way of life. So whether Iraq was in violation of Resolution 1441 is irrelevant. The real question is whether Iraq represented a direct and imminent threat to the United States that could not otherwise be deterred. If that was the case, then preemptive self-defense, like Israel's military action against Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq in the 1967 Six Day War, would have been warranted. And if Iraq was not a threat, especially in terms of aiding and abetting Al Qaeda, then the United States fought a needless war against a phantom menace.
- Topic:
- War
- Political Geography:
- United States, Europe, Middle East, United Nations, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan
9. Threats to Financial Privacy and Tax Competition
- Author:
- Veronique de Rugy and Richard W. Rahn
- Publication Date:
- 10-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Global economic growth and personal freedom are under attack by governments and international organizations seeking to squelch financial privacy and tax competition. Privacy rights and international tax competition are beneficial constraints on the monopoly power of governments. But high-tax nations and organizations such as the European Union are pressing for international agreements to remove those limits on government power at the expense of prosperity and freedom.
- Topic:
- Economics, Government, and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- United States and Europe
10. EU Enlargement: Costs, Benefits, and Strategies for Central and Eastern European Countries
- Author:
- Marian L. Tupy
- Publication Date:
- 09-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The accession of eight Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) to the European Union in 2004 will bring some important benefits. The new members will gain from reduced barriers to trade and investment. By 2010, the movement of labor will also be freed. But accession to the EU is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for economic growth. The combined effects of market access and economic liberalization, not EU membership, optimize economic growth.
- Topic:
- Emerging Markets and International Political Economy
- Political Geography:
- Europe and Eastern Europe
11. Mending the U.S.-European Rift over the Middle East
- Author:
- Leon T. Hadar
- Publication Date:
- 08-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The war in Iraq has created tensions between the United States and some of its leading allies in Europe and exposed a deep diplomatic rift between the traditional transatlantic security partners. The controversy over Iraq has also ignited strong anti-American sentiments and threatened international cooperation in the war against Al Qaeda.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- United States, Iraq, Europe, and Middle East
12. Retirement Finance Reform Issues Facing the European Union
- Author:
- William G. Shipman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Changing demographics are forcing countries around the world to reexamine their public pension systems. The member states of the European Union are no exception. Indeed, the EU nations are among those facing the greatest social, budgetary, and economic challenges as a result of their aging populations. Therefore, EU members will be forced to rethink their public pension programs and move away from traditional pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) pension models to new systems based on savings and investment.
- Topic:
- Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Europe
13. The Anti-Terrorism Coalition: Don't Pay an Excessive Price
- Author:
- Charles V. Peña
- Publication Date:
- 12-2001
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- To prosecute the war on terrorism, President Bush has assembled a diverse coalition of countries for political, diplomatic, and military support. Some of those countries are long-standing friends and allies of the United States. Others have new or changing relationships with the United States. Although there may be a price for their support, America should not pay an excessive price—one that could be detrimental to longer-term U.S. national security interests. And though it may be necessary to provide a certain amount of immediate aid (directly or indirectly) as a quid pro quo for the support of other nations in our war on terrorism, the United States needs to avoid longer-term entanglements, open-ended commitments, and the potential for an extreme anti-American backlash.
- Topic:
- Security, Religion, and Terrorism
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, America, Europe, Middle East, and Asia
14. Replacing Potemkin Capitalism: Russia's Need for a Free-Market Financial System
- Author:
- Kurt Schuler and George A. Selgin
- Publication Date:
- 06-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- On August 17, 1998, Russia devalued the ruble and stopped payment on its government debt, creating a financial crisis that continues today. Some observers have blamed the financial crisis, and the poor performance of the Russian economy generally, on government policies that they claim are rigidly laissez faire. However, a closer look at the Russian financial system reveals that it remains fundamentally socialist, though it has superficial capitalist features.
- Topic:
- Debt, Economics, Government, and Financial Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Asia
15. Blunder in the Balkans: The Clinton Administration's Bungled War against Serbia
- Author:
- Christopher Layne
- Publication Date:
- 05-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The Clinton administration has made one miscalculation after another in dealing with the Kosovo crisis. U.S. officials and their NATO colleagues never understood the historical and emotional importance of Kosovo to the Serbia n people, believing instead that Belgrade's harsh repression of the ethnic Albanian secessionist movement in Kosovo merely reflected the will of President Slobodan Milosevic of Yugoslavia. The administration's foreign policy team mistakenly concluded that, under a threat of air strikes, the Yugoslav government would sign a dictate d peace accord (the Rambouillet agreement) to be implemented by a NATO peacekeeping force in Kosovo. Even if Milosevic initially refused to sign the Rambouillet agreement, administration leaders believed that Belgrade would relent after a brief “demonstration” bombing campaign. Those calculations proved to be disastrously wrong.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Foreign Policy, NATO, and Ethnic Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, China, Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, Kosovo, Yugoslavia, Serbia, Balkans, and Albania
16. U.S. Assistance for Market Reforms: Foreign Aid Failures in Russia and the Former Soviet Bloc
- Author:
- Janine R. Wedel
- Publication Date:
- 03-1999
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the governments of the United States and other Western countries have provided massive aid to promote a transition to the free market in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. But aid for market reforms in the region has been largely ineffective. Whether provided in the form of technical assistance, grants to political groups or nongovernmental organizations, loans and guarantees to the private sector, or direct financial aid to post-communist governments, that aid has been plagued by a number of problems. The failed $22.6 billion bailout of Russia by the International Monetary Fund in July 1998 only confirmed the flawed nature of the aid-for-reform approach.
- Topic:
- Economics and Emerging Markets
- Political Geography:
- Russia, United States, Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Soviet Union