Summer/Fall 2003 Vol 27:2
Confronting HIV/AIDS: The Development Perspective
A peculiar feature of HIV/AIDS is that it contributes to unusually high levels of personal and economic stress, setting in motion processes of structural transformation. Seen as a threat to government power and national security, the epidemic calls for an agenda of restoring Africa to a progressive development path. (View)
What has USAID done to combat HIV/AIDS? Andrew Natsios examines the pressures that drove to change USAID policies on the use of antiretroviral medications in Africa, discusses the global nature of the disease, and highlights the relationship between the War on Terror and the epidemic. (View)
International Law under Fire
The U.S. administration’s recent expansive interpretation of the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter requires a concurrent reassessment of the legal concepts of necessity and proportionality in the context of terror.
International humanitarian law is fine – as long as it is appreciated for what it is rather than criticized for what it is not. Legal advisor to the International Committee of the Red Cross probes the idea of whether humanitarian law is applicable to the War on Terror and argues that the values of human security and the rule of law enshrined in the Geneva Conventions should be upheld. (View)
How does a “right” to self-determination fare next to the state practice of intervention? If self-determination leads to cultural homogeneity, does it also lead to oppression? (View)
The legal principle of uti possidetis juris defines national borders within Africa and Latin America and still informs the conceptual thinking on international frontiers today. When applied to Kosovo, however, it has led to disastrous results.
U.S.: Bully or Benefactor?
“Just about everything the U.S. does—or chooses not to do –makes an enormous difference to everyone else,” says the former Foreign Minister of Australia and current president of the International Crisis Group. If the U.S. is to enjoy its power, it might want to make friends, rather than enemies, with other nations. (View)
The post-9/11 contest between national security and civil liberties in the U.S. has so far favored the former, raising concerns both in America and abroad.
Until recently, U.S. foreign assistance to developing countries was based on the belief that democratization could be deferred until development objectives had been achieved. According to the executive director of Freedom House, that belief is changing.
Global Pressure Points
The nature of the North Korean regime and the immeasurable value of nuclear weapons to Pyongyang make any talks with Kim Jong II futile. Rather than waste time, the U.S. should persuade South Korea and China to put more pressure on the North Korean government.
Islamic radicalism stands as a result, not a cause, of Moscow’s war in Chechnya. The current Russian assault against the Chechen people, conveniently dubbed an “anti-terrorist” operation, will only breed more chaos and extremism.(View)
Independence, the cherished dream of the Chechen resistance movement, was briefly won in 1996, but turned into a cruel and disappointing experiment. Unwilling to challenge the radicals on one side, and alienated by the Kremlin on the other, Chechen national leaders have been forced to watch the renewed carnage from the sidelines. (View)
Successive Egyptian presidents have tolerated a limited amount of public criticism, but for the most part considered it to be “dissnt” rather than loyal opposition. Professor David Sorenson examines different forms of Egyptian “dissent” and argues that its official interpretations have allowed the government to crush violent Islamist opponents and attack liberal adversaries. (View)
An examination of the policies implemented by the government of Pakistan and the international community towards Afghan refugees demonstrate that the international refugee regime is both highly politicized and offers few protections to asylum seekers in, or from, non-strategic peripheral states.
Issues and Policy
The application of game theory to interactions between a government and a minority group within society reveals that stable majority/minority divisions lead to violence. However, where majority/minority divisions are flexible, democratic compromise may be possible.
Not willing to be seen as an occupier in the Balkans, NATO forces have tried to regroup while emphasizing local capacity and reforming their own mandate.
Key business continuity lessons from September 11 point to the need for effective planning as well as responsible corporate governance. (View)