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1121. Crafting a US Response to the Emerging East Asia Free Trade Area

Author:
Christopher Martin
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Few would dispute Asia’s growing economic importance in the 21st century. While China and India have held the spotlight recently, their rise may not constitute the region’s most important economic shift. Japan is still by far the richest economy; while South Korea’s formidable industries are the envy of many. Furthermore, the ten-country coalition that makes up the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) boasts such economic dynamos as Singapore and Malaysia. Together, China, Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN (commonly referred to as ASEAN+3) account for 20 percent of global output, nearly 20 percent of global trade, and hold well over 50 percent of the world’s international monetary reserves. Moreover, the region is ripe for growth. It accounted for 31.4 percent of the world’s population in 2005 (more than Europe and the Americas combined) and the IMF’s 2008–2011 outlook figure clocked growth at 7.9 percent for Asia, dwarfing the 2.5 percent for major developed countries. How would the world’s economic landscape shift if these thirteen countries were to join together in some form of economic union? More importantly, how should the United States respond to such an event? It is a question the US needs to answer today.
Topic:
Economy, Free Trade, Industry, and Regional Economy
Political Geography:
East Asia and United States of America

1122. A Concert in Energy Security: Building Trans-Atlantic Cooperation to Confront a Growing Threat

Author:
Richard G. Lugar
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
It is a pleasure to be here today at the American Council on Germany. As a member of the Council’s Congressional Advisory Committee, I applaud the effort that brought this group of leaders together to discuss the challenges that we face and the need for a unified response. In today’s geo-strategic environment, few threats are more perilous than the potential cutoff of energy supplies. The use of energy as a weapon is not a theoretical threat of the future; it is a current reality. Those who possess energy are using it as leverage against their neighbors. In the years ahead, the most likely source of armed conflict in the European theater and the surrounding regions will be energy scarcity and manipulation. We all hope that the economics of supply and pricing in the energy market will be rational and transparent. We hope that nations with abundant oil and natural gas will reliably supply these resources in normal market transactions to those who need them. We hope that pipelines, sea lanes, and other means of transmission will be safe. We hope that energy cartels will not be formed to limit available supplies and manipulate markets. We hope that energy-rich nations will not exclude or confiscate productive foreign energy investments in the name of nationalism. And we hope that vast energy wealth will not be a source of corruption within nations whose people desperately ask their governments to develop and deliver the benefits of this wealth broadly to society. Unfortunately, our experiences provide little reason to be confident that market rationality will be the governing force behind energy policy and transactions. The majority of oil and natural gas supplies and reserves in the world are not controlled by efficient, privately owned companies. Geology and politics have created oil and natural gas superpowers. According to PFC Energy, foreign governments control up to 79 percent of the world’s oil reserves through their national oil companies. These governments set prices through their investment and production decisions, and they have wide latitude to shut off the taps for reasons of politics and power.
Topic:
International Cooperation, Transatlantic Relations, and Energy Security
Political Geography:
Europe and United States of America

1123. A Period of Turbulent Change: Spanish-US Relations Since 2002

Author:
Manuel Iglesias-Cavicchioli
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The purpose of this essay is to show the dramatic shifts that the Spanish-US relationship has undergone from 2002 to date, by trying to explain their causes, implications, and consequences. The following text offers a critical vision of Spanish foreign policy in the last four years and suggests some possibilities to redefine the current relationship with the US Government in a more constructive way.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:
Europe, Spain, North America, and United States of America

1124. Democratization in the 21st Century: What Can the United States Do?

Author:
Arthur A. Goldsmith
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The Winter/Spring 2005 issue of this journal was devoted to “Democratization in the 21st Century” in which the general consensus was that the United States should assist the unfolding worldwide trend toward democracy. The president of the National Endowment for Democracy, Carl Gershman argued, “that it is appropriate and desirable for the United States to provide moral, political, technical, and financial support to people who are striving to achieve democracy.”1 Furthermore, Alan W. Dowd of the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research wrote of “America’s unique role” in the world and its “natural inclination to promote free government.”2 Although the United States seems encouraged to promote democracy worldwide, left largely unsaid by many are the specific means available to the United States for promoting democracy. Transitions from authoritarian rule are driven by internal forces, and the United States should not take for granted that an external actor may not be capable of significantly influencing internal forces within another state. How large an influence the United States can have is an empirical question. The democratization forum in the Whitehead Journal mostly cited small-N case studies, but these studies have contrary implications depending on the cases one selects.3 LargeN quantitative studies paint a generally more pessimistic picture of externally generated democracy. Had the large-N literature been consulted, the democratization forum might have paid greater attention to the practical difficulty of changing repressive states from the outside-in. This essay synthesizes the latest cross-national academic research to highlight how problematic it is for one country to promote open government in another country. It needs to be understood, however, that although the evidence challenges naïve, favorable assumptions, this article is not implying the international community should reject all efforts to promote democracy as futile or counterproductive. Certain external activities may prove effective where conditions are ripe, but the data suggest we keep our expectations modest and be prepared to learn from setbacks.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Strategic Engagement
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1125. Brand USA: Democratic Propaganda in the Third Social Space

Author:
Belinda H. Y. Chiu
Publication Date:
09-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Traditional approaches to foreign relations are being replaced by marketing strategies to brand nations by enhancing their image and reputation. No longer is this responsibility limited to government tourism boards. Rather, because “every nation is already a brand,”1 the responsibility to create positive perceptions of the nationstate has fallen on the shoulders of departments of foreign affairs and diplomacy. As an increasingly important tool to promote foreign interests and to attract allies—or in marketing terms, loyal customers—branding allows nation-states to craft and influence how others perceive its political, economic, and social systems & values. Branding is everywhere. But what is it? Brand equity of a product or service is the set of value-added assets that is communicated and strengthened by building name recognition, customer loyalty, and perceived quality. Although it had its beginnings in the consumer product industry, it is no longer restricted to the CocaColas and Proctor & Gambles of the world. Branding has become a tool of public diplomacy. Citizens and leaders of foreign nations have existing ideas about other countries, be they positive or negative. In a technologically-advanced and globalized world, the branded nation has added pressure to be strongly aware of its own brand.2 A nation’s brand can be strengthened by favorable policies, such as debt relief and foreign aid, or conversely, compromised by economic embargoes and declarations of war. Like consumer goods, smart brand management is essential to maintaining a positive impression and build loyal followers. However, as with consumer goods, smart brand management can only sell the product. While branding can change perceptions about the product, it cannot change the product itself. This paper will first briefly discuss the “third social space” in a democracy, the public space for media and marketing. According to Habermas, this third social space sits between the first (the state), and the second (the market, or private sector). Second, it will explore the characteristics of nation branding and its importance to foreign relations, examining the case of Brand USA, with a particular focus on the Shared Values Initiative targeted toward the Arab and Muslim worlds. Finally, it will discuss whether branding has democratic appeal or propagandistic flavor. While there exists skepticism that this process has too much of a Machiavellian feel to it, branding nations is a useful public diplomacy and relations tool, as long as it does not misrepresent facts.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Soft Power, Propaganda, and Marketing
Political Geography:
North America, Global Focus, and United States of America

1126. A Case Study in Declining American Hegemony: Flawed Policy Concerning the ICC

Author:
Eric K. Leonard
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
The primary question that this article engages is whether the Bush administration’s opposition to the Rome Statute is in the national interest of the United States. More broadly speaking, does the Bush administration’s opposition to the ICC serve as an example of how a hegemon, founded upon a particular ideology, may undermine its own hegemonic status? The international community established the ICC to prosecute individuals accused of committing the most heinous international crimes—genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.6 Given the fact that traditional American allies and every member state of the European Union, with the exception of the Czech Republic, support this Court, is active opposition to the ICC’s existence a prudent position, or will such a position simply ostracize the United States from the rest of the international community and undermine its ability to maintain America’s hegemonic position? In order to address these questions, this article begins with an examination of the concept of hegemony, along with its contested definition. It then proceeds to an analysis of American hegemony, including the basis for its continued preeminence. This article then returns to the ICC and examines this institution within the framework of the hegemonic discourse. Finally, it provides policy recommendations concerning the United States’ position towards the ICC and draws upon this case as a starting point for policy recommendations concerning other liberal international institutions.
Topic:
International Law, Hegemony, International Criminal Court (ICC), Rome Statute, and International Institutions
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1127. Fixing Failing States: The New Security Agenda

Author:
Pauline H. Baker
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Weak and failing states rank among the world’s greatest threats to international peace and security today. While major threats to world peace used to come mainly from ideological, military, or economic competition among competing states, in modern times lethal threats are growing within states from communal tensions among rival factions, extremists groups with radical political agendas, and faltering regimes clinging to power and asserting militaristic ambitions. These are the driving forces of a growing world disorder.1 Recent events highlight this paradigm shift in the strategic environment. North Korea is a failing state with an inward-looking regime and a negative view of the world. Its own insecurities, including its fear of a US invasion, are motivating it to pursue nuclear capabilities that have increased its isolation further and exacerbated tensions.2 Lebanon is a weak state that successfully cast off fifteen years of Syrian military occupation, but was unable to assert its sovereignty and fill the vacuum left behind. Hezbollah used that opportunity to assert itself as a “state within a state,” with dual power bases in the government and in the south, where its autonomous security forces launched a devastating war with Israel in July 2006. Then there is Sudan, a country with the highest risk of internal violence that has stonewalled effective international action to stop the continuing humanitarian crisis in Darfur, described by the US State Department as genocide. 3 Internal weaknesses within these states have increased the threat of nuclear proliferation, precipitated an interstate war, and worsened an ongoing humanitarian crisis, respectively. Though the origins of state weakness go back decades, the curtain was raised on the era of failing states—if one can call it that—by the tragedy of September 11, 2001. One year after the biggest terrorist attack on the US in history, the 2002 US National Security Strategy stated that America is threatened more by failing states than it is by conquering states, overturning decades of US national security thinking. Overnight, we went from looking at security through a “big power” lens to seeing it from a “small power” lens. Much of the rest of the world has come to see security challenges from that perspective as well.
Topic:
Security, Terrorism, Fragile/Failed State, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

1128. Nation-Building: The Dangers of Weak, Failing, and Failed States

Author:
Richard S. Williamson
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Iraq continues to be in the throes of violent turmoil. The cost in treasury and blood is higher than anyone anticipated. Despite numerous “turning points,” milestones, and benchmarks, there is no neat solution in sight. The American people are thus understandably disheartened, discouraged and dismayed. After over a decade as the world’s sole superpower, the brief and circumscribed US military actions in the first Persian Gulf War, Bosnia and Kosovo, and the quick defeat of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, the American people were ill-prepared for a lengthened, bloody post-conflict engagement in Iraq. “Black Hawk Down” in Somalia was the rare exception, not the rule.1 America’s high-tech military power was capable of vanquishing foes quickly and at acceptable cost. It was also thought that once Saddam Hussein and his brutal regime were brought down, Americans would be hailed as liberators and, like Eastern Europe after the fall of Communism, Iraqi democracy would emerge like a phoenix from the ashes. However, it is clear that the history of the 1990s and the history being written in blood in Sadre City, Baghdad, and elsewhere in Iraq, are tragically different. A democratic broader Middle East would be a safer and more stable region. People desire the dignity, human rights, and opportunity granted them by their creator and promised by a freedom agenda. It also is undeniable that Saddam Hussein was a vicious dictator who victimized his own people, sought weapons of mass destruction, and threatened his neighbors. Testament to this indictment is found in Saddam’s mass graves and torture chambers, in his nuclear program in the 80s and early 90s and use of chemical weapons against Iran and Iraqi Kurds, in the long, bloody war initiated against neighboring Iran, the blitzing invasion and occupation of Kuwait, and his on-going military spectacles and bellicose rhetoric.2 The world is better off without Saddam Hussein in power. Even given all of that, should Iraq have been invaded? That matter is for the historians to debate. My purpose is not to relitigate that issue, but to recognize that any discussion of nationbuilding going forward must be informed by the chaos and conflict in post-Saddam Iraq. It is abundantly clear that we were not adequately prepared to deal with the challenges of Iraq after the fall of Saddam. We have memoirs from some of the principles that, sometimes unwittingly, describe an overly optimistic view of Iraq after Saddam, based upon meager planning and unrealistic resource allocation.3 We have a growing library of books and other reports by journalists that seem to reinforce that conclusion.4 Moreover, our most powerful indication comes from the events on the ground. These events have brought into question the wisdom of nation-building. Is it ever possible? If so, is the right sort of societal history, habits, and harmony a prerequisite for success? Is it worth the cost? If so, when and why?
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Fragile/Failed State, Iraq War, and Nation-building
Political Geography:
Middle East and United States of America

1129. Global Imbalances: A Source of Strength or Weakness?

Author:
Kristin J. Forbes
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Gross capital flows into the United States totaled $1.8 trillion in 2006. When combined with the $1.0 trillion the United States sent abroad, these net capital inflows funded the U.S. current account deficit of about $800 billion.1 The source of a large proportion of these capital inflows was developing economies—especially China and major oil exporters. Why are foreigners willing to invest such massive amounts of money in the U.S. economy? And perhaps even more surprising—why are countries with low levels of investment willing to send this relatively scarce resource to a capital-abundant economy instead of investing in their own countries? Understanding the motivation behind the millions of individual decisions that drive these capital inflows is critically important to understanding if this massive net transfer of capital into the United States reflects a strength or weakness of the global economy.
Topic:
Economy, Investment, and Capital
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

1130. The Role of Monetary Policy in the Face of Crises

Author:
Anna J. Schwartz
Publication Date:
07-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
In this article I first review the Greenspan Fed’s record of providing liquidity in response to its perception of shocks the economy is facing. It assumed that the shocks were likely to generate financial crises. No financial crises, however, have occurred. Yet the Fed was dilatory in draining the market of unneeded liquidity. Failure to do so meant that monetary policy remained accommodative. I next discuss whether there is a connection between the Fed’s accommodative policy and the depreciation since 2002 of the exchange value of the dollar as well as the twin deficits and growing global imbalances. In that discussion I refer to the need to raise the national saving rate, in part by eliminating the budget deficit as well as projected deficits from the unfunded liabilities of Social Security and Medicare. Monetary policy, however, must be independent of fiscal policy. I conclude with some observations on the advisability of adoption by the Fed of inflation targeting.
Topic:
Monetary Policy, Federal Reserve, and Economy
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1131. The Columbian Exchange and the Reversal of Fortune

Author:
Thomas Grennes
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
It is difficult to think about modern American food without including hamburgers and hotdogs. It is also difficult to think about popular American history without cowboys mounted on horseback tending herds of cattle. However, before the arrival of Columbus in 1492 there were no cattle or pigs in America to provide beef and pork for hamburgers and hotdogs. There was no wheat to make hamburger and hotdog buns. There were no horses for cowboys or Indians to ride. The European settlers brought with them cattle, pigs, horses, wheat, and many other plants and animals that became the foundation for modern food and agriculture in the Western Hemisphere. It is also difficult to think about modern Mexican food without including rice, tacos filled with meat, refried beans in animal fat, cheese in enchiladas, and sugar, cinnamon, and milk in chocolate. However, Mexico in 1492 had none of these ingredients. The massive transplantation of plants and animals across the Atlantic Ocean in both directions has been called the Columbian Exchange (Crosby 1972). It has been described as the “greatest human intervention in nature since the invention of agriculture (Fernandez-Armesto 2002: 165), and it has had an enormous effect on the Americas and the entire world. The Columbian Exchange altered the kind of food Americans and Mexicans eat, the kind of agricultural products produced in both countries, and the entire pattern of world economic growth. This article will concentrate on the effects of the Columbian Exchange, but the exchange of plants and animals was part of a broader process of trade, migration, investment, colonization, and exchange of ideas that followed the voyages of discovery by Columbus and others. The same Old World plants and animals were introduced to the two regions that would become the United States and Mexico, but the effects in the two countries were substantially different.1 The United States was the poorer neighbor in 1492, but it became relatively richer. The purpose of this article is to show how differences in institutional development affected responses to the same opportunities. I shall concentrate on developments in the United States and Mexico, but the Canadian experience was similar to the U.S. response, and the response in the rest of Latin America was similar to the Mexican response (Cole et al. 2005).
Topic:
Migration, History, Food, Investment, Trade, and Columbian Exchange
Political Geography:
North America, Mexico, and United States of America

1132. Remuneration vs. Reelection: A Senatorial Balancing Act

Author:
Jim F. Couch, Brett A. King, and Taylor P. Stevenson
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Unique events often give rise to other unique events. Such was the case of Hurricane Katrina—the costliest and most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history. The resulting casualties and staggering damage estimates from the savage storm in late August 2005, led the U.S. Senate to vote overwhelmingly (92 to 6) against a Senate pay raise. Most senators apparently felt that voters would not look kindly on a Senate pay raise given the devastation caused by Katrina. The Senate vote was largely symbolic because the House of Representatives was not going to take a vote on rescinding a pay raise for members of Congress. Thus, senators voting against the raise knew their votes would resonate well with voters but have no impact on the annual congressional pay raise sanctioned by law. Of the six senators who did vote for the pay raise, five—James Jeffords (I-Vt.), Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Richard Lugar (RInd.), and Kit Bond (R-Mo.)—were long-time incumbents whose seats were not threatened, and one—Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.)—was about to retire. Typically, votes cast by members of Congress are relatively easy to predict. The empirical analysis of congressional voting patterns suggests that measures of ideology and party affiliation play a decisive role in explaining overall voting behavior. A vote on congressional pay, however, is not typical. It creates a dilemma for lawmakers by pitting two margins of self-interest against each other: pecuniary gains and reelection. Senators are clearly made better off by not opposing annual pay raises—salaries have increased from $98,400 in 1990 to $165,200 in 2006. Yet, those increases are likely to irritate voters and could harm a senator’s chances for reelection. In this article, we examine those conflicts of interest and how they affect voting behavior in the case of senatorial pay raises. It is often reported that cooperation among politicians, or bipartisanship, is a thing of the past. However, our results suggest that at least in the case of the Senate, when it comes to an issue as controversial as a pay increase, senators are fully capable of cooperating. More vulnerable senators (in terms of their probability of reelection) are allowed to vote against a pay raise, knowing that those in a more secure position can vote for the increase. The more vulnerable senators likely compensate senators who take the unpopular position of voting in favor of the pay increase with favorable votes on future legislation.
Topic:
Elections, Domestic Politics, Ideology, and Voting Behavior
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1133. Global Imbalances: Do They Matter?

Author:
Miranda Xafa
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
This article reviews the recent literature on global imbalances and discusses the policy implications of the various theories that have been advanced to explain their unprecedented increase. Most of these theories fit the stylized facts, namely, the steady increase in the U.S. current account deficit, the shift to a surplus position of the developing countries, and the low nominal and real interest rates globally. The “low U.S. savings” theory—reflecting the increase in the fiscal deficit and in housing wealth—views the current account deficit as the result of fiscal and monetary policy decisions in the United States that need to be urgently reversed to prevent a crash landing. Other theories however, focusing on developments outside the United States, portfolio balance effects, or previously neglected benign factors, do not yield such a doomsday scenario. It is relevant to note that there is no historical precedent of disorderly exchange rate adjustment in industrial countries that keep inflation under control (Croke, Kamin, and Leduc 2005). Concerns over a disorderly unwinding of global imbalances therefore appear exaggerated. This view, prevalent among market participants and several prominent academics, has not been widely embraced by policymakers.
Topic:
Monetary Policy, Economy, Wealth, and Savings
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America

1134. Why the U.S. External Imbalance Matters

Author:
William R Cline
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
Last year the U.S. current account deficit (mainly on trade but including capital income and transfers) reached almost 7 percent of GDP, or about twice as large a share as in 1987, the peak of the previous episode of large external imbalances and dollar overvaluation. A major reason is that from 1995 to 2002 the dollar rose by 28 percent against other currencies, after taking account of inflation and weighting by trade. A strong dollar made U.S. exports expensive and imports cheap, driving up the trade deficit after about a two-year reaction time. With large and persistent external deficits, the United States has swung from being the world’s largest creditor nation to its largest debtor, with net foreign liabilities now at about one-fourth of GDP. The dollar has corrected somewhat and is now about 13 percent lower on a trade-weighted basis than its average in 2002, based on the Federal Reserve’s broad real exchange rate index. Without that partial correction the trade deficit would now be even larger. It will likely require a decline of an additional 15 to 20 percent in the dollar to cut the current account deficit back to about 3 percent of GDP. That rate would be consistent with limiting net foreign liabilities to 50 percent of GDP in the long term. Exceeding that ceiling would seem imprudent for both the U.S. and global economies. It will be crucial that China, Japan, and much of the rest of Asia participate in realignment of their currencies against the dollar, because the decline of the dollar so far has been heavily concentrated against the euro and other industrial country currencies except for the Japanese yen. Dollar correction will also need to be accompanied by fiscal adjustment. Otherwise much of the competitive effect of the dollar adjustment would be offset by higher inflation and a dollar rebound from higher interest rates. Fundamentally the external deficit is the excess of resources used over resources produced, and with U.S. household saving near zero, the government cannot be a large net borrower without keeping the nation in large external deficit.
Topic:
Government, Finance, Economy, Currency, and Deficit
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1135. Stockholders and Stakeholders: The Battle for Control of the Corporation

Author:
Donna Card Charron
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Cato Journal
Institution:
The Cato Institute
Abstract:
The American corporation is in trouble not only because of various immoral executives, but also because it is a target of sustained attacks. For several decades, corporate revisionists have toiled to transform the corporation from private to public property. Were they to succeed, the tragedy of the commons would slowly sap the corporation of its vitality. My objective in exposing the battle for corporate control is to urge and encourage those committed to the preservation of this highly performing institution to place the issue more prominently on their agenda. To this end, I detail the evolution of the battle and assess the present state of affairs. In so doing, I describe and critique “stakeholder theory,” the revisionist’s chosen weapon for gaining control of the corporation. Stakeholder theory currently dominates textbooks and syllabi of courses in business management, human resource management, marketing, and public policy. It colors the decisions of many corporate executives. And it controls the thinking in the majority of business ethics centers. Aware of its reach, I adumbrate a strategy for reversing the destructive inroads of stakeholder theory.
Topic:
Business, Management, Corporations, and Stakeholders
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1136. He Who Would Rule: Climate Change in the Arctic and its Implications for U.S. National Security

Author:
Elizabeth L. Chalecki
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
Anthropogenic climate change will have its greatest effect on the Arctic, which will experience impacts ranging from increasing ambient air temperature to glacier and sea ice melting to permafrost thaw. This altered environment will result in new national security concerns for circumpolar nations such as the United States, including increased Arctic access by Russia and other nations; competition over newly accessible fossil fuel resources; and loss of Arctic military facilities resulting from permafrost thaw and land subsidence. Although these effects will be felt cumulatively over the coming decades, the United States must make the necessary strategic changes now in order to prevail in this new security environment. The United States should retrain and re-equip military forces for greater Arctic operability, work toward a clear legal understanding of open sea access in newly ice-free waters, and consider implementing a joint circumpolar security apparatus to facilitate adaptation to this new globally-warmed Arctic.
Topic:
Climate Change, National Security, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:
North America, Arctic, and United States of America

1137. The Limits of Sino-Russian Strategic Partnership in Central Asia

Author:
Brian Carlson
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
U.S. foreign policy has recently suffered setbacks in Central Asia, where its role had expanded dramatically following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Recent events appear to indicate growing Sino-Russian cooperation to limit U.S. influence in the region. Although Russia and China have grown closer together in recent years based on convergent strategic views, a number of factors will limit their strategic partnership at the global level. Likewise, their interests in Central Asia mix elements of cooperation with competition, reducing the likelihood of a Sino-Russian condominium in the region. Prudent U.S. foreign policy can prevent anti-American, Sino-Russian power balancing in Central Asia. In order to achieve its goal of a stable, independent Central Asia, the United States should seek to promote a regional concert with Russia, China, and the Central Asian states. If this is not fully achievable, the United States should promote maximum cooperation to address shared interests on issues of security and economic development.
Topic:
Security, Foreign Policy, Partnerships, Economic Development, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:
Russia, China, Central Asia, Asia, and United States of America

1138. Justice Delayed… an Overview of the Options to Speed Up Federal Justice

Author:
Mattia Landoni
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
This paper examines the current situation of delay in the federal district courts and proposes ways to reduce it. District Courts are increasingly overwhelmed by the demand for judicial services. This trend is likely to continue in the absence of future action because none of the underlying causes will cease to exist. This article presents a detailed quantitative analysis of the main determinants of judicial services demand, followed by an overview of the options to increase its supply: changing the method to assess the need for judges is worth considering; modifying the procedure—the strategy adopted so far—seems to offer little marginal benefit; and finally, introduction of good management practices and digital information management seems to be an innovative and promising approach.
Topic:
Courts, Justice, and Judiciary
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1139. Neither Pigs nor Parrots: A Military Culture that Can Win the Peace

Author:
Ryan Close
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Public and International Affairs (JPIA)
Institution:
School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA), Princeton University
Abstract:
As ongoing operations in Iraq illustrate, the nature of warfare is changing: peacekeeping and warfighting are converging as the space between military and humanitarian activity erodes. Because of the vastly different challenges of fighting wars and handling post-conflict challenges, militaries traditionally train soldiers to be either warriors or peacekeepers. This new type of conflict, however, requires soldiers who are both of these simultaneously. Unfortunately, current organizational culture – focused almost entirely on combat – may prevent the ideological shift within the military that is necessary for molding a new soldier identity. This article addresses this challenge and proposes policy measures that would help transform military culture and better match combat prowess with broad intellectual, political, and social vision. To this end, this article considers how the security environment is evolving, examines how such an environment will severely stress the U.S. military, and offers recommendations for cultural change that concern force structure, operational planning, and the selection, training, and promotion of soldiers.
Topic:
Defense Policy, Military Strategy, Culture, and Military
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America

1140. The Geneva Conventions and New Wars

Author:
Renee De Nevers
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Political Science Quarterly
Institution:
Academy of Political Science
Abstract:
RENÉE DE NEVERS explores how ‘‘new’’ wars—ranging from civil wars to asymmetric war—and new warriors, including warlords, private security companies, and children, fit within the Geneva Conventions. Although the nature of warfare and warriors has changed from the time the Conventions were adopted in 1949, she challenges the view that the Conventions should be abandoned. Rather, she argues, the Conventions should be revitalized to address a broader spectrum of war, because this will generate greater international support for U.S. efforts to combat terrorism.
Topic:
Terrorism, War, and Geneva Convention
Political Geography:
Global Focus and United States of America