Summer 2006 Vol 30:2
America’s Role in the World
Presidential Trashing of American Law and Diplomacy
The chief speechwriter and close adviser of John F. Kennedy compares the approach to law and diplomacy taken by Camelot with that of the current administration. Noting that the two concepts are indispensable and inseparable, he sharply criticizes the government for ignoring both.
The Cause of Strife in the U.S. - ROK Alliance
The days of unquestioned U.S. leadership in East Asia have ended and the ensuing divergence of long-term strategic concerns in Washington and Seoul has caused a rift in their traditional alliance. Yet the two countries also share nonmilitary ties - and they now face the challenge of modifying their relationship in light of changed realities.
Strategic Nonviolence
The Right to Rise Up: People Power and the Virtues of Civic Disruption
Civic disruption is a nonviolent movement's tool for gaining the "power to shake off oppression." Strikes, boycotts, mass protests, and civil disobedience discredit the lies that an oppressive ruler uses to assert legitimacy, weaken the support that he needs to govern, and interrupt his capacity to monopolize information and control events. Violence may make revolutionaries into celebrities, but it rarely liberates citizens.
Reflections on the Revolution in Kyrgyzstan
While many Western analysts consider the Kyrgyz Tulip Revolution to have wilted, the events of March 2005 represent significant progress for Kyrgyzstan and are actually symptomatic of the growth of interest politics in Kyrgyzstan, the influence of individual interests in government, and healthy political competition.
Fighting for Statehood: The Role of Civilian-Based Resistance in the East Timorese, Palestinian, and Kosovo Albanian Self-Determination Movements
There is no formula or blueprint for successful nonviolent, civilian-based resistance - but the struggles for self-determination analyzed in this study demonstrate that unity, nonviolent discipline, and the planning of nonviolent campaigns that target the opponent's sources of power are essential to the overall effectiveness of this method of struggle.
International Criminal Justice
Whoops, I Committed Genocide! The Anomaly of Constructive Liability for Serious International Crimes
International criminal law provides for a unique species of constructive liability that allows superiors to be convicted directly for crimes committed by subordinates. This creates tension with the requirement of many international crimes that offenders engage personally in prohibited conduct with a specified mental state. A revised offense of “dereliction of duty” for commanders would more precisely encapsulate the criminality at issue.
The Legacy of the Special Court for Sierra Leone
The Special Court for Sierra Leone is the first independent, hybrid or “nationalized” criminal tribunal and also the first to be located in the same country as the theater of conflict. As such, it has an unusual opportunity to leave a lasting legacy for the people of Sierra Leone.
Issues and Policy
From Captive to Failed State: Argentina under Systemic Populism, 1975-2006
In little more than half a century, Argentina has suffered an almost unparalleled economic involution: the percentage of its population below the poverty line has gone from 10 percent in 1950 to 45 percent in 2005. The cause is a massive transfer of wealth from the exploited taxpayer to private business through patterns of systemic populism that have been at work since 1975.
High-Tech Terror: Al-Qaeda's Use of New Technology
Al-Qaeda has transformed itself into an organic social movement, using the Internet to make its virulent ideology accessible to anyone with a computer. For the United States to defeat al-Qaeda and the broader jihadi movement, it must first gain a better appreciation of the ways in which the movement is successfully fueling itself by harnessing new technologies.
Constitutionalism and the Politics of Democracy in Hong Kong
Almost a decade after capitalist Hong Kong was returned to communist China under the notion of “one country, two systems,” debate continues over the Special Administration Region’s long-term democratic development and the security of autonomy, human rights, and the rule of law. Michael C. Davis assesses the costs of running a free society under the thumb of China and argues that Beijing should relax its grip on Hong Kong.
Does Europe Have Something to Offer the World?
The European Union is a strange thing - an unidentified political object - that can frustrate the evaluator and that invites endless comparison. But it is as an unusual political construct that the EU can serve as an inspiration for other regions seeking to maximize their political and economic clout and stability.
The Fall of Fujimori: A Diplomat's Perspective
In late 2000, the regime of Alberto Fujimori of Peru imploded over a crisis of political corruption. Drawing on embassy reporting, the U.S. ambassador to Peru at the time here provides a high-level U.S. perspective on the events of the period.
Perspectives
Divorcing Serbia: The Western Balkans in 2006
Kosovo and Montenegro may gain independence from Serbia this year, and the outcome of the status talks in Kosovo and the referendum in Montenegro will be crucial for the whole region. But, Tim Judah asks, will these processes bring much needed stability, or cause the creation of a “Balkan Ghetto” surrounded by EU member states?
Germany's Integration Challenge
As a country that has traditionally refused to consider itself a "classical" immigration country, Germany is reluctantly facing up to a new reality. The recent reforms of German immigration and citizenship law provided opportunities for immigrant integration, but they did not live up to their full potential.
Reviews
Mao: The Unknown Story
By Jung Chang and Jon Halliday
Reviewed by Jacob W. Hamstra
Conflict and Collusion in Sierra Leone
By David KeenM
Reviewed by Christof P. Kurz
Al Qaeda in Europe: The New Battleground of International Jihad
By Lorenzo Vidino
Reviewed by Benedetta Berti
Nation-Building: Beyond Afghanistan and Iraq
Edited by Francis Fukuyama
Reviewed by Nicholas Kenney