In The News

The Age of Nonpolarity

Richard N. Haass April 18, 2008
US dominance of international affairs is becoming increasingly archaic, asserts Richard Haass, president of the Council on Foreign Relations. Rather than a multipolar model of states balancing power, Haass sees the 21st century segueing into a nonpolar international system, where the United States is joined by increasingly powerful states as well as centers of power “from above, by regional and...

The Three Revolutions

Henry A. Kissinger April 7, 2008
US policymakers must grapple with radical changes in the structure of international politics, suggests Henry A. Kissinger, US former secretary of the state. The upcoming presidential election has sparked lively debate over US foreign policy, yet this debate focuses on narrow, tactical concerns rather than the broad, strategic challenges. The European state system – the fundamental feature of...

Separatist Movements Seek Inspiration in Kosovo

Stephan Orth February 26, 2008
Kosovo has become a rallying cry for minority rights, autonomy and independence in European states such as Spain and Greece, report Stephan Orth, Nadine Michel and Maike Jansen for Spiegel Online. Perhaps more significant, the writers note, is Kosovo’s symbolism in the ethnically diverse and traditionally less powerful Eastern European and Balkan countries such as Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus....

EU Powers to Recognize Kosovan Statehood

Mark Tran February 18, 2008
After declaring its independence, Kosovo did not have to wait long for supporters and opponents to step forward. Britain, France and Germany announced they would recognize the new state, and US President George Bush expressed unofficial enthusiasm. But states with troublesome separatist movements of their own, like Spain and Cyprus, are less enthusiastic. Both Serbia and Kosovo would like to join...

A New Search for Peace in the Middle East

Mark Matthews December 4, 2007
“A snake pit of recrimination and mistrust” is how longtime Middle East diplomatic correspondent Mark Matthews describes Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, but he might as well include many other snakes in that metaphorical pit – the United States, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the European Union and the United Nations, to name a few entities that have a stake in the conflict. As the...

Bye Bye Belgium?

Jon Henley November 27, 2007
Belgium juggles cultural and linguistic differences – French, Dutch and German – through norms of cooperation and a complex system of federalism. Until recently, the country has stood as proof that polarized groups can live together in peace. The failure of Belgium’s politicians to form a national government for nearly six months – and counting – has many questioning whether the country can...

American Special Forces in Pakistan: Back to the Future?

Paula R. Newberg November 21, 2007
The reaction to the news that the US Defense Department has decided to send Special Forces trainers to Pakistan’s unruly tribal areas has so far been muted. But the irony of the decision and its long-term implication for the Subcontinent is hard to miss. In the eighties, the US administration poured money and weapons in Pakistan to train the Mujahideen to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. The...